


Pukey

by BloodyBacon



Category: Layton Kyouju Series | Professor Layton Series
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - School, Aromantic, Asexual Character, Awkward Sexual Situations, Bisexual Female Character, Bisexual Male Character, Boarding School, Bullying, Dirty Jokes, Dirty Thoughts, Everyone Is Gay, Explicit Sexual Content, Gen, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Internalized Homophobia, Lesbian Character, M/M, Masturbation, Masturbation in Bathroom, Multi, Partying, Rape/Non-con Elements, School, Sex, Sibling Incest, Sleep Groping, Sleeping Together, Stuffed Toys, Uniforms, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-03
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:34:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 47
Words: 207,781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25044730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BloodyBacon/pseuds/BloodyBacon
Summary: Luke goes to a boarding school, but gets a room with someone who's much older, and much meaner than he'd ever thought possible. It's only a year though, so maybe it'll all be alright ... Nah, he's fucked for sure.
Relationships: Clive/Luke Triton
Comments: 41
Kudos: 39





	1. Puke Triton

Luke beamed happiness all around him, walking into the big dorm room. He didn't think he'd like college prep school if he had to do it at a boarding school, but it … was pretty nice. The campus was huge, and extremely polished in terms of appearance. The entire campus itself was like it's own little town, just specifically for school things. And this room was like it's own little mini house … He walked over, seeing that his roommate had already unpacked his things and … 

Well, they had a sort of cramped room, two big beds next to each other and a flat screen TV on a dresser in-between them on the opposite wall, Though, that wasn't what Luke was really looking at. There was a boy about  _ twice _ his size laying on the bed, hand seemingly stuck in a bag of chips as he aggressively typed something on his phone. His hair looked like it'd been dyed black with cheap dye that ended up rubbing off, revealing it's true brown color in the form of melted looking blobs in his hair color. He looked up when Luke came in, and they both stared at each other for a second … 

"Are you a first year too?" Luke asked.

" … No." 

"Oh- um … they ran out of space in the other building- so I'm gonna be your roommate!" Luke said, pulling his absolutely massive bag over to his bed. He'd struggled to get it all up here, nobody really seemed to want to help him either. " I- I'm Luke by the way! It's my first day here and stuff so I don't have any friends yet- but i really-" 

"Yeah- cool- shut up-" 

Luke … unzipped his bag, and his stuff erupted from it. He wanted to be prepared, so he packed everything he could. "... U-um- so what's your name?" He said, picking up his ocean of clothes.

"Clive-" 

"That's a nice-"

"Can- you like- just be quiet? I'm not in a good mood-" 

"Aw- how come?"

"Cause i have to share a room with a fucking two year old" 

"A … huh? But I'm thirteen!"

"And your voice makes my head hurt- be quiet-" 

Luke just looked at him … Clive, he was only going to say it was a lovely name. 

He continued to unpack, and put his things in the drawer, well, as much stuff as he could fit into the bottom drawer. Most of them were full of Clive's stuff, he didn't leave much room for Luke to put his things anywhere in the room. Luke just settled on folding his clothes and neatly leaving them inside his suitcase. Most of the weight was from the bunny he'd brought, a three foot one that he could cuddle with at night if he couldn't sleep. He pulled it out and placed it on his bed, along with the small blanket that helped him sleep when he was away from home. It was a little knitted blanket that his mom had made for him, and it was incredibly soft. 

"... " Luke looked up at Clive, who was still typing away. He was wearing the school's black blazer, red threads outlining his body as a bright silver school badge laid on his chest. He had a shirt underneath that, it looked … pink-ish. His pants were way out of dress code, they weren't the regular shorts or uniform pants, but black jeans, ripped across his thighs. He also had an upside down cross earring dangling from his left ear, which was definitely not allowed here. Luke wanted to speak up, he wouldn't want Clive to get in trouble or anything, but if he had a headache then he wouldn't wanna bother him either … 

Clive got up, and shook the bag from his hand, tossing his phone on his bed as he went over to a box in the corner. Luke just watched as he took out a console, and started hooking it up to the TV … 

Once he was done, he sat back down on his bed, "okay … so- Listen- I don't know why they put me with some little boy this time- but I don't care.  _ However - _ this is not  _ our  _ room. this is  _ my  _ room. And In my room- nobody but me and people I approve of are allowed to put their stumpy little gremlin hands anywhere near  _ anything _ that belongs to me. And in the event that you break something … " Clive smiled, pulling out a knife from his pocket, "I'll skin you alive and wear you as an ugly belt-" He said. Luke flinched as the blade popped open … 

"And also, no bringing  _ anyone _ over, I don't care who it is- and you're in charge of all the cleaning and stuff. Got all that?" 

Luke nodded, " why am I in charge of cleaning?" He asked. 

Clive set his knife back in his pocket, " part of growing up is having responsibility-" 

"Growing up? … If you say so-" Luke said, completely giving in to the idea that somehow cleaning up after someone who is nearly an adult makes him grown up. Clive nodded, "Do all that and we'll be best friends-" 

"Really? We can be friends?" 

"Suuuuuuure  _ whatever your name is- _ " 

"It's Luke-! It's nice to meet you-" Luke said, and Clive nodded, "mmhmm" he picked up his phone, and went back to typing. Luke figured he must be arguing with someone or something … 

The room itself had it's own little kitchen area, it was like a teeny tiny apartment, equipped with a small two burner stove, a mini fridge and a little microwave that probably wouldn't fit a normal sized plate. This place was nice, it took a lot of money to cover tuition fees, Luke wondered how Clive got in … 

"And don't stare at me like that-"

"O-oh! I'm sorry-" 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Luke held Clive's hand, being walked to an assembly. Clive all but dragged his bag along, it looked more like a stuffed suitcase at this point. Luke's bag was the complete opposite, it was the same style, but it was a light green color, decorated with all the badges and pins he'd bought online. There were so many people here, and … a couple of them also seemed to be in the same situation. They were matching clothes almost, the only difference being that Luke chose to wear shorts and keep his suspenders at his sides. He turned his head, seeing a girl with pink-ish brown hair pulled back in a ponytail. She was following behind some blonde guy, who seemed more than pissed off this morning. His head was down and he was mumbling to himself ... She turned when Luke looked at her, and smiled. 

Luke had no idea what to do, so he smiled back, and waved. She looked like just about the nicest person here. "Keep up will you?" Clive said, pulling at Luke's arm, "I'm not trying to be the last one there-" 

Luke tripped forward a little, "h-hey! You walk really fast, and your legs are way longer than mine!" 

"Ugh- you need to hurry up and hit puberty" Clive said, picking Luke up. He put him up over his shoulder as he walked, and Luke huffed, "Shut up! I did hit puberty!" He yelled, and immediately went still as about twelve people looked at him … he buried his face in Clive's shoulder, hearing him laughing under his breath. " I hate you-" he mumbled. 

"Awww~ don't cry whatever your name is~" Clive said, rubbing his back. His voice was soothing, and It felt weirdly good, even though he knew he was being made fun of he relaxed a little, absently biting his thumb as he angrily held on to Clive. "It's Luke-!" he whined. 

He looked up, catching eyes with that girl again, only that time, she just sort of giggled and looked away. He sighed, he'd like to be friends with someone his own age, but it seemed like it wasn't gonna happen anytime soon. Maybe he'd have better luck in class? He sighed, watching some guy with brown curly hair and red glasses approach him. Luke didn't think he was coming this way, he was wearing the same uniform, only he looked much more to code than Clive did. He looked neat, hair pinned behind his ears and out of his face, he lifted his hand, making a "shhh" gesture as he got closer to them. Luke just looked at him, and stayed quiet, watching as he reached out towards Clive's waist. He had a watch on his wrist, with gems in it that looked really pretty when they were in the light. 

He jammed his fingers into Clive's sides, "Morning!!" He yelled, and Clive dropped Luke, being sent into a laughing fit. Luke groaned, landing on his bag. Lucky for him the only thing in there was a little stuffed cat, his stress relief companion. Clive laughed, and Luke moved out of the way, watching him be assaulted, "Fucking- Desmond! Stop! " He said between laughs. "Nah- It's been too long! I haven't seen you in person in ages!" 

Clive pushed at his face, the two were pretty much on the ground fighting by now, "well that's not how you greet someone!" Clive said as Luke stood, dusting himself off. He picked up his bag, and huffed, glaring at the two. Clive ended up putting Desmond in a choke hold, underneath his arm as he swatted at his hands, "Alright! I'm done, I'm done! Were you always this strong?" 

"Dude no- i told you- i worked out over the summer but Literally nobody believed me until I got back." 

"Because you're just so Lazy- when did you find time to hit the gym?"

"I didn't-" Clive let him go, and got up. " I bought weights and stuff- so when i had nothing to do I'd just pick them up- it's that simple- and if you wear those ankle weight things then every time you get up and walk around it's technically a workout-" 

"I don't think that's how it works but at least you're not Mr Skeletal anymore-" Desmond said, straightening his glasses and his hair as he got up.

"Clive you got your clothes all dirty!" Luke said, having washed them last night. He felt personally offended almost .. "It's fine Luke-" Clive said, brushing the grass off his sleeve. Desmond tilted his head, "and who's this?" He asked, "did your little brother get enrolled?" 

"... He- I don't have siblings, and you  _ know  _ i don't have siblings??" Clive said, gesturing to Luke, " first year- not even a freshman- but an  _ actual  _ first year- and guess who has to share a room with him?" Clive said. Luke looked away, "What's wrong with being a first year? It's not like I can help how old I am-"

"You're just annoying-" Clive said, and Luke huffed, "But you said we could be friends-" he said. 

Desmond grinned, "that's adorable- if you don't want him then let's swap- I got a room with ' _ rich kid king henry _ ' himself- and he's just as annoying as everyone says-" 

"Ha-!" Clive picked up his bag, and so did Desmond, " at least you won't be changing diapers-" he said, walking off. Luke trailed behind them, not even bothering to say anything about the comment. 

Once they got to the auditorium, which was more like a massive theater, Clive rushed to get seats near the top where they wouldn't be bothered cause nobody wanted to climb 500 stairs just to be there, except a couple people who Luke thought really looked like they could use a hug. They took their seats, Luke holding his bag in his arms as he sat at the very end of the row, watching everyone funnel in. It was loud with them all talking at once, and Clive wouldn't stop messing with Desmond, pushing him into the wall with all of his fooling around. He was really starting to hate the idea of Living with this guy. He was rude, lazy, snobby, and a huge pervert at that. Luke didn't want anything to do with him at all, he doubted Clive would even graduate with how much of a dummy he seemed like. 

The presentation started, a massive screen going through a bulleted PowerPoint as every rule and regulation was stated. 

"Remember to pick up your trash! Keep our campus clean!"

"Spending the night at a friend's dorm is strictly prohibited!" 

Clive had dozed off already, quietly snoring as Desmond wrote stuff on his hand with a sharpie. 

Luke paid attention, trying not to focus on the fact that Desmond was whispering weird stuff to him, trying to get his attention. 

"Really- if you ever need to get away from this guy just come to my room~ number 304- I promise I'll treat you way better than he will-" 

Luke blushed, pulling his legs up into the seat, "Creep" he mumbled. 

"Well joke's on you- saying no just makes me want it more" 

"W-wha-"

Desmond laughed, "you're so cute- he's gonna destroy you-" he said, putting a hand over his mouth to keep his laughing at a minimum. Luke just looked away, "weirdo" he mumbled.

"Because of a shortage of rooms- you may have noticed that you've been paired with someone at least three years your Junior. We want to make sure the experiences of the youth here is a safe one, and so if you are one of the people with a younger roommate, then you will be expected to look after them"

There was a loud groan throughout the room, mixed with a few curses. Desmond looked at Clive, and then at Luke, before shaking him awake, " i think you need to listen to this-" he said, and Clive groaned, "you don't need to wake me up for kisses honey~" he mumbled, rubbing his face.

"I don't wake you up for kisses, love- now look up at the screen." He said, and Clive squinted … "man- I left my glasses-" he mumbled, looking over at Luke, who had a traumatized look on his face. " … um- you alright there little buddy?" Clive said. 

"You will be considered responsible for looking after, and caring for them, We don't have the staff to accommodate this many children at once. If something happens to them, or it's found that you've mistreated them, then you will be expelled immediately. We have zero tolerance for .."

Clive just looked around, "ugh- what's she talking about?" He asked. Desmond shrugged, "you have to look after Luke- and if you don't you'll get expelled"

"...  _ What-  _ no- I'll just tell them to switch us around-"

"Well they said they're not taking moving requests anymore cause the school is packed-" 

" _ Are you fucking kidding? _ So I'm stuck with him?" 

Desmond shrugged, and smiled, "but hey-" he whispered, "This just means we have our own personal little play thing right?" he said. Clive looked at Luke, who had curled up in his seat, and taken a little stuffed cat out of his bag. He was rubbing his hand up and down it's back … 

"But- she said that if we do anything to him we'll get expelled right? I'm not trying to call him a name and have him cry for three hours, and then get expelled for it- "

"Well yeah - but who's to say he even tells in the first place? Maybe~ just maybe he'll find a few reasons to keep quiet- you know?" 

" … you're really freaking me out- but you're riiightt~" Clive grinned, "I like it- I already have him cleaning the room but just imagine- never having to get up for anything again, maybe this won't be so bad … " 

Luke whined, "C-clive i feel sick-" he said. Clive looked at him, " and? Deal with it-" he said. 

"But- you're supposed to help-"

"Well what do you want me to do? I can barely take care of myself- you're as good as dead if you think you can rely on me"

Luke looked down, "d-don't say that- I feel worse now-" he said, stomach turning in circles. 

Desmond looked over, "Well your big bro Dez can take care of you! And then you can come clean my room instead huh?" He laughed, and the sound echoed in Luke's ears for a minute, making him light headed. 

Luke gripped Clive's arm, and leaned over him, face going green as he spilled the pink contents of his sugary cereal breakfast all over his lap. The sound of him vomiting was loud, at least a million people turned their heads, and when they saw what had happened, they got up, groaning in disgust as they attempted to get away. Clive just stared, in pure disbelief as Desmond put a hand on his shoulder, repeatedly telling him not to get mad. 

It all sounded like static, he stood, completely quiet as he grabbed Luke by his arm, and pulled him up, walking him down the row of chairs.

"What happened up there?!" 

Clive ignored it, and kept walking. He chose such a good day to sit on the top row, making his way down each and every stair. People leaned out of the way of them, and Luke hid his face in Clive's leg as he walked, all but clinging to him. Clive kept his eyes on the floor, It felt like there was a spotlight on him. He ignored Luke's complaints, and the sound of him crying. He ignored every face that gazed at him, and once he got to the bottom, the only thing he said was,

"We're going to the nurse." 

Once he got a nod of approval, he robotically turned and left. 

And once he was outside, and the door shut, he reached into his pocket, pulling out the knife he kept on him. Luke whined, "I'm sorry- I don't need the nurse I just wanna go - h- home-" he sobbed. 

"Pukey~" Clive said, a wide smile on his face as Luke looked up, and gagged, almost vomiting a second time. Clive stopped … he put his knife back, not wanting to get caught beating Luke up out here. Not that he was going to cut him, he wasn't, but the look on his face was worth it.

"So you do it when you're scared?" He asked.

"I get n-nervous and-"

"Well that would have been good fucking information to know! God- first day and I'm covered in barf, got any other things I should know about? You gonna piss on me next?" 

"Y-you're squeezing my arm!" 

Clive let him go, " give me your blazer-" he said. Luke hesitantly took it off, and watched Clive dry the fluid off of him with it as he walked. He threw it back at Luke, who barely even wanted to touch it. " I cant believe I'm fucking stuck with you-"

"I didn't mean t-to- you and that guy were being creepy-"

"You're the one that's creepy- you and your massive, swollen, bobble head! "

"My head isn't big!"

"It's half your body mass!"

They yelled at each other the entire way home, only stopping to breathe and think of another insult. Even as they were going up the stairs to the building, they were screaming in each other's ears, hitting each other, trying to see who could piss the other off the most. 

Clive eventually just grabbed Luke by the back of his shirt, having gotten to their room by now. He took his key from the chain on his belt loop, " I hope you trip and fall and scrape your hands on the ground really bad! And the nurse tells you that they don't have a bandaid for ugly stupid people like you! And-" Luke yelled out in panic as he was violently thrown onto his bed. Clive had tossed him hard, not worried about hurting him since Luke's bed was Just about the softest thing in the universe. He shut the door, and pulled his clothes off, " Can't fucking believe they really expect me to give a shit about you- wash my clothes while I take a shower-" he said, and Luke looked away, "Why are you getting naked in here?"

"This is MY room!"

"Pervert!"

"You're the ugliest thing I've ever seen! So don't even go there!" Clive said, throwing his pants at Luke. Luke threw them back, but Clive ignored it, walking into the bathroom. He shut the door, and Luke crossed his arms.

Was he really gonna be expected to live with someone like this? 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Clive stepped out of the shower, seeing Luke laying there, holding his stomach … he felt a  _ little  _ bad for yelling at him. But still … 

"Are you gonna be alright or do i need to call your mommy to come get you?" He said, Walking over to the dresser. He put a clean set of clothes on, noticing that his dirty ones were nowhere to be seen. Clive had bought his own tiny portable washing machine, not wanting to use the school's. He looked over to it, and sure enough it was running … 

"Hey, Puke-"

"Stop calling me that-" 

"Then quit ignoring me- does your stomach still hurt or something?"

Luke was quiet … he curled up a little bit, "I'll take care of it myself" he hissed. 

"Alright then- I left my bag so I'm going back for it … " he said, stepping back into his shoes. Luckily they weren't messed up … he looked up at Luke, and huffed, angry at his own empathy. He just looked so sad laying there … he looked away, maybe he'd been too mean, but still - he was gonna get Luke back for this later. Accident or not, he was still mad, "Since you lost your breakfast and I'll get expelled if I don't help- There's a piece of cake in the fridge- it's just the bread- and it's vanilla- but you can have it if you get hungry … " he got up, " ~~_ sorry _ ~~ " he said extremely fast, leaving the room before Luke could even process it. 

Luke sat up, he was fine, he just didn't wanna see Clive naked a second time. He got up out of bed, shuffling over to the little fridge that sat on the floor. Cake sounded nice as an apology right now, he didn't know if Clive was really sorry but he didn't care either. He opened it up, and looked inside …

_ It was the only thing in there besides energy drinks.  _

He pulled it out, and made his way over to his bed, setting it down. He pulled out his phone, getting comfortable on his bed, sitting up against the bunny as he watched YouTube. He picked the wrapping off of the cake, his mouth tasted really bad, so this was the perfect thing to help with that at least. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Clive opened his room door, carrying his and Luke's bags in one arm, "You left yours in there … um?" He stared. Luke was asleep on his bed, on  _ his  _ bed. He'd taken the bottle of apple juice from Clive's fridge, and was curled up on his bed with it halfway empty … 

Clive just let him sleep, throwing Luke's bag into the face of the stuffed bunny. He was gonna get him for sure, but it'd be when he woke up.

After all, it'd be useless if he fell asleep while getting his ass kicked. 


	2. Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke makes a friend, and Clive figures out a good way to face his insomnia.

Luke held Clive's hand, standing up with him on the bus. There were lots of them that roamed the streets, there were no personal cars here at all. Most people who didn't wanna take the bus, owned a bike or scooter or something … Luke leaned against Clive, eyes shut as he started to doze off. He'd been trapped in the vents all night, Clive locked him in there, calling it the "gay baby jail" since that's what Desmond insisted over the phone. 

Clive shook him, "get off me-" he said, and Luke opened his eyes, jolting awake … "Cwive I'm really sleepy … " He said, tugging on his hand. Clive sighed, "too bad- I told you not to touch anything belonging to me and somehow- you drank my apple juice and slept on my bed-" 

"I was thirsty- the cake was dry and you only had energy drinks-"

"Well you could have waited for me to get back instead of just taking things out of the fridge that don't belong to you- and that doesn't explain you sleeping in my bed-" 

" It's really comfortable- i didn't mean to fall asleep- … w-why do you hate me so much-? I just wanted to be friends-" Luke said, squeezing Clive's hand, but Clive just let him go, putting that same hand on his head, "You threw up all over me- and you know, people took pictures of that- and it's just about everywhere now" Clive said. He calmly smiled, "You're so incredibly lucky I didn't decide to smother you in your sleep, so cheer up- cause somehow you've managed to cheat  _ death _ ."

Luke pulled away, and Clive went back to being his normal, non approachable looking self. He was absolutely foreign when he smiled, it was horrible. Luke moved back over eventually, hanging onto his leg as he tried not to go to sleep on him. 

Desmond reached out, taking hold of Luke's hand, "you can come sleep on me Luke~ I really don't mind-" he said.

Luke yanked his hand away, clinging to Clive's leg, huffing quietly in frustration, "Cwive he's doing it again!" Luke whined. Clive just ignored him, not bothering to care. Desmond sighed, "Well- there's always next time-" he said, leaning back in the seat. Clive looked down, "back it up pukey- if you throw up on me again then i'm gonna slap you-"

Luke hesitantly pulled back, seeing Desmond smile at him, "I don't bite you know-" he said, holding his arms out.

Luke just went back in, "I don't feel good" he mumbled. 

"Luke. If you throw up on this _god damn_ bus-" 

"You can puke on me- I don't mind~" Desmond said. Luke quickly covered his mouth, and Clive reached down, "Just- calm down- alright?" He said, running a hand through his hair. It was … soft to the touch, it made his hand tingle a little bit. Luke leaned in, and in a second he was barely able to stand. He just wanted to go to sleep, why did that have to be so hard? "Luke- let Dez hold you- he's not gonna do anything-" Clive said, feeling like Luke was gonna pull his pants down if he kept holding on like that. 

Luke shook his head, "why can't you hold me?"

"Well, I didn't know you wanted to die so much-"

Luke sighed, and pulled away, he looked at Desmond, who held his arms out … he looked away, and held out his own, being picked up, "He-  _ he's so light _ , Clive- he's literally so small- i can't believe you don't wanna hold him-"

"Mmhmm - just don't make a scene" he said, not bothering to look around and see Desmond cuddling Luke into oblivion. Luke didn't even have the energy to reply, being wrapped up inside Desmond's coat. It was really warm, he had a lot of body heat, and being that it was September, it was a little cold out. Luke fell asleep nearly instantly, just trying to imagine Dez was his bunny instead of some creepy guy who was always trying to hold him. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


"You can put me down now-" Luke said, still being carried by Desmond as Clive walked next to him. "I don't feel like it~!" Desmond said, nuzzling Luke's face. "Lukey you're such an angel~" 

"Q-quit it!"

"Lukeyyy~" Desmond whined, glasses completely fogged up as he held him close. Clive stopped, having passed by about three vending machines. He wanted something out of them, but he never bothered bringing cash in the mornings ... " … hey- keep him still -" Clive said, reaching over into Luke's pockets. "C-clive!! What are you doing?" 

"Im buying a soda-"

"I need that money for lunch!"

"You can eat when you get home- you'll probably puke it all up anyways-" Clive said, "plus i'm only taking a dollar- you don't have to get the most expensive thing on the menu-" 

"Don't you have your own money?"

"Of course- but why bother withdrawing it when you bring cash? Plus you owe me- Pukey-" 

"Stop calling me that!" Luke squirmed, Clive put his wallet back in his pocket, "god- do you just expel glitter or something?" He said, wiping his sparkling hand off on Desmond's sleeve. "of course not- stupid-" Luke said, cringing as Desmond nuzzled him, "God Lukey~ You're so cute- Clive please let me take him home-?" 

" Mm -" he hummed absently, pressing the sprite button. The bottle fell out of the machine, and he picked it up. 

"Pleaaaase~?" 

"...hm" Clive twisted the soda open. 

"I'll give you whatever you waannt?"

"Dez, what are you even going to do with him? He's useless-" 

Desmond hummed shoving his face into Luke's neck, "I don't even know-" he said, taking a deep breath, "Maybe I'll just keep smelling him- it makes me hungry." He said. Luke whined, "Please don't do that-!" He pleaded, finally being set on his feet. "Big bro Dez has to get to class~ we gave you our numbers so when you're all ready we'll come pick you up~!"

"Yea- and if you don't wait for us then guess what?" Clive asked. 

"... Y-you'll skin me alive?"

" _ i'll skin you alive _ " he said, walking off the way he came with Dez attached to his side. 

"Have a good day Baby~!"

Luke turned, angrily making his way towards his class. All that fooling around had him disoriented, but at least he got to take a nap. He straightened his bag, fixing his hair, he wanted to look nice for his first real day of school. 

He walked up a flight of stairs, heading up to room 708, his first period class of the day. The hallways had pastel colored wallpaper, it was really cute paired up with the shiny orange tiled floors. There were bulletin boards outside every classroom, with pretty art that showed what the class was. This was so different from his old school, everything here seemed so huge, except for the stuff in this specific building.

Luke finally found his classroom, at the end of the hall on the top floor. He would have just taken the elevator, but he felt like a little bit of movement might be good to wake him up. 

When he got there, the door was already open, showing a room full to the brim of bored looking kids. There was a blonde woman sitting at the desk, reading a book as everyone had conversations with each other. She looked up when Luke came in, pulling her hair behind her ear as she said, "Hello there, what's your name?" 

"Luke Triton!" Luke said, finally feeling comfortable here. Good, now he could have a regular day of school without being bothered! The woman leaned forward, her dark red dress stretching as she set her book down, looking at a clipboard … "yes, yes please take a seat there, desk number sixteen- next to Lili and Flora- girls please raise your hands-"

Luke turned … it was the same brown haired girl from before. He was honestly so happy to see her. She was just about the only ray of hope he'd had since he got here. He happily walked over, " Didn't I see you on the way to orientation?" He asked, setting his bag down on the desk. Flora nodded, she was wearing a gray sweater vest over a white shirt, her name visible on a gold badge. She had a pretty bow on the front of her uniform, and a plaid skirt with matching socks. " Oh- you're the boy who threw up right? " 

"... Y-yeah-" Luke said, face turning a little red. Was he known for that? How embarrassing ...

"Are you feeling better now?" She asked, and Luke nodded, "I just get really nervous sometimes and it comes out- but I promise I won't do it on you or anything!" he said, wishing he didn't have to talk about it. She hummed, "Well I hope we can be friends- and when you get nervous just know you can talk to me alright?" 

Luke nodded … "sure … you're really nice ..." He said, completely shocked. It was almost unbelievable. She giggled, "That's Lili, if you wanna be friends with us then you have to do the initiation" she said, and Luke turned, looking at the blonde girl who was folding a strip of paper between her hands. "We only wanna be friends with the smart people so we aren't stuck doing everyone's homework- so if you can solve this riddle then we'll be your friends-" 

"That isn't true- we'll be your friend even if you don't get it right- but we definitely aren't going to do your homework-" Flora said. 

"I'm good at stuff like this! I bet I can solve it easily-" Luke said. "And don't worry- I do my own homework-"

Lili smiled, "after trying to fold a strip of paper in half, you notice that one side is an inch longer than the other- you try again, only to find that the other side is now an inch longer- you've now made two folds in the middle- what is the distance between the folds?" 

"Easy- an inch-"

"... Wow- you did it so fast-" Flora said. Luke grinned, "I really like riddles and things like that- I know a few good ones if you wanna hear them?" 

"Sure!" 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Luke stood outside the building, still talking to Flora and Lili. It was late in the afternoon, and he was extremely tired, but he was having so much fun that he didn't want them to go. "And he's always making fun of me too- I can't believe we're expected to actually follow their rules! I came here to get away from parents, not have one that's almost my age boss me around-" Flora said, kicking a rock around. Luke nodded, "Right- if i wanted that then i would have stayed home and gone to a private school instead-" 

Flora sighed, "exactly! It just isn't fair- who are they to tell us what to do …" she sighed… "but- between us- the bigger boys are kind of cute right?" She said in a hushed voice. Luke just looked at her … "h-ha?" 

"It's just- most boys our age are so awkward- but the big boys are so cool! And they're really smart- plus they have facial hair!" 

"Facial hair?" Luke asked, rubbing his own face. 

"Mmhmm- i know i'm not supposed to- but I just like touching their faces when it's all prickly- it makes me feel like i'm still at home with my dad- and that i wasn't just left here" Flora said. A lot of her rants turned into that, she seemed really upset about being left behind or something ... "well- i have to get going- He'll be upset with me if I'm not home when he gets there. I don't like being watched over … though, it does feel nice to have someone actually want you around- so i guess it isn't all that bad- I just wish he was a tad nicer-" she said. Luke couldn't believe it honestly, this was such a dumb situation, " see you around-" he said, waving her off. 

"I'm gonna go walk her home- bye Luke!" 

"Bye Lili!" Luke said, waving her off as well. 

Weird, he was the last one here now. He texted Clive about an hour ago, but he still hadn't showed up. Luke sat down on the stairs, and pulled out his phone. The trees seemed to shake in the wind, being the only sound out here as everyone had already gone home ...

He scrolled through his contacts, deciding to try and call Clive. He tapped the name, and the phone rang for about a second before it hung up … wow

_ He hung up on me _

Luke huffed, deciding to call Desmond instead. He knew Dez would pick it up, and It was answered almost as soon as Luke pressed call. 

"Yeah baby~?"

Luke … shuddered, "Um- i'm outside- it's getting dark and- when are you coming?"

"Huh? Oh - right right right-  _ Cliiiveee!!" _ Desmond yelled, away from the phone. There was an audible yell back, an angry sounding, "shut the hell up!" 

"We'll be there in a bit baby~ just sit tight okay?" 

Luke hummed, and the phone hung up … well, now he just had to wait. 

He didn't know how long he'd be waiting for, he assumed it'd be a while until they actually got back, but he hoped it wasn't too long. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Luke was hiding behind a tree, absolutely terrified. It was pitch black outside, and he was too afraid to even move. He'd been left here, he'd seriously just been left here! He rubbed the back of his stuffed cat, trying to remember nice things instead of the eternal darkness surrounding him. He thought about his mom's cooking, her hugs and her jokes. He thought about flora, and what she'd possibly do to help him. He squished the animal in his hands, thinking about his nice teachers, and the homework he got today. He was assigned to ask his " _ roommate _ " questions, and make a nice piece of art with the answers. He was looking forward to getting to know Clive, maybe then he wouldn't be so mean to him. 

But right now he just wanted to bite him.

Luke looked up, a pair of footsteps approaching as a shadowy looking figure got close. Luke's body felt weak, and he slumped down a little, nerves causing him to shake as he held onto the cat with dear life. 

"Lukeeyy~" Rang a deep, tired sounding voice. Luke just stared, watching the figure from afar. It didn't seem to see him, but it kept calling his name. 

"Lukey~ baby~?" 

Luke remained quiet, like hell he was gonna get kidnapped by some shadow creature! He stayed perfectly still, and watched as another approached. "God- where the fuck is that little runt?" Came a more familiar voice. 

"I don't even care- I bet he's with his friends or something-" Clive mumbled.

"Hey~ I know you're worried on the inside..."

"Can you just- shut up? I really couldn't care less-"

"Heh, Clive~ you're such a little liar! it's gonna be alright honey~ we'll find him-" 

Luke stayed still, just watching them, had Desmond always spoken with such a deep voice? It was already there to begin with- but it seemingly got an octave lower.

Luke didn't care if that was them, they made him wait for so long! He was gonna run away and go back home, yea, that sounded way better than staying here. 

He flinched, "What's that thing that keeps sparkling over there?" Desmond asked, walking over to where Luke was. Luke panicked, and watched him approach. Once he got close enough, Luke could see his smile, and it was just gross...

"Lukey~! You were hiding from us? Bad boy!" 

Luke moved away, "you two are the worst! I'm going home-!"

"Hey-" Desmond said, and Luke stopped … "I'm really not liking this attitude- we were busy- and now we're tired- so just get up and let's go-" he said, sounding more like Clive than himself. 

Luke didn't know what to do, he felt like he was gonna get locked in the vent again, he was scared, and they were definitely pissed off about him hiding, what was he supposed to do though? He hated the dark- and- he- 

Luke grabbed Desmond, who was kneeled down beside him, "I don't feel good-!"

"That isn't an excuse- now let's go-" 

Luke did go, he went "Blurghhe" and spilled what little he had for lunch all over Desmond, who just sat still, sitting on his knees on the ground, covered in Luke's vomit … 

Luke panted, "I w-wanna go home!" He cried, wiping his mouth. Desmond was completely still, able to see the little chunks of beef from Luke's lunch.

"Oh god- did he just-?" Clive walked over, taking out the flashlight on his phone. He cringed, Luke was dripping hot tears onto Desmond, who had this really strange smile on his completely red face. Clive could practically see the drool dripping down his chin, and it just made him cringe even more, "You're absolutely, and utterly disgusting if you enjoy this-"

"Haa … you're so ungrateful … it feels so good-" Desmond breathed out. 

"Cwiive!" Luke whined, holding his arms out. 

"Ugh- look what you did Dez! He's gonna get snot all over me-" 

" I'll carry him- hha-"

"You're covered in puke! Just go home- I got it-" 

Luke stretched up as Clive walked over, and picked him up. He put his phone away, talking into Luke's ear, "He didn't mean to scare you- don't be such a crybaby-" Clive said, picking up Luke's bag. Luke just quietly whined, Clive could feel his heart beating as he sniffled, clinging to him with that vaguely cat shaped ragdoll in his hand. "I'm sowwy- don't put me in the vent Cwive!" Luke mumbled. 

"Can you shut up? Your breath stinks-" Clive said, gently rubbing his back, "Just be quiet - alright? Take a bath and go to bed when we get home-" 

Luke nodded, and Clive looked back, seeing Desmond still sitting there on the ground, completely limp. " … And really- Dez isn't scary, he's just weird- he isn't going to hurt you so you shouldn't be afraid of him- you should be infinitely more afraid of me" 

Luke shook his head, holding onto Clive tight, "You're not scawy-" he mumbled out. 

"... Ugh-" 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Clive watched Luke sleep. He was a little jealous, unable to get to bed himself. He tried not to get mad, cause he'd literally be angry at luke for breathing if he did. Still, he couldn't sleep, and seeing him there was kind of annoying … 

But what to do about it? He was still a little upset over him puking on Desmond, and hiding from them, but honestly, Desmond probably came from it. Clive smiled, what a weirdo … he sighed, and sat up. Well, he couldn't sleep, so he might as well mess with Luke. Their beds were about three feet apart, but it only took him a step to reach the other side. He looked down at Luke, and lifted his foot, rolling him over. 

Luke laid on his back now, his shirt pulled up a little over his stomach. Clive carefully sat down, and reached out, poking him in the stomach …  _ wow Desmond was right, he is kind of plush. _ He continued to poke at his stomach, squishing the subtle amount of chub at Luke's hips. Luke whined, smiling in his sleep. Clive just continued, smiling a little himself when Luke started giggling. He bet Desmond would enjoy this … he hummed, and carefully picked Luke up, walking over to his own bed. There was something calming about holding him, he felt more at ease with Luke in his arms, so he sat down on his bed, propped up onto his pillows as comfortable as he could make himself, before he started to drift off … and it actually worked. He actually went to sleep at an appropriate time. Who would have thought? 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


"Stop- moving" Clive mumbled. 

"L-let go of me! You stink-"

"YOU stink- and I can do whatever I want with you" 

"Says who?"

"Says me-" Clive said, pinching Luke's side. Luke huffed, "I didn't know you were the cuddly type- maybe while you're at it you'd like me to give you a peck on the cheek too?" 

Clive sighed, and let Luke go, Kicking him out of bed with his foot, "Disgusting-" he said, Rolling over on his side as Luke whined. "That hurt!" He yelled, getting up, and getting back into his own bed. 

"Good-" Clive said. About a few seconds later, his alarm clock went off, and he audibly groaned. They'd spent the past hour arguing with each other, he wasn't ready to get up. 

Luke sighed, "my sides feel weird-" he said, rubbing his hips. Clive didn't reply, wondering if all that squishing him around might have hurt him. So fucking delicate, yet so annoying. "Clive it's time to get up-"

"I  _ know that  _ Luke-"

"Then why aren't you moving?"

"Who are you to question me? If you wanna get ready then get ready, but keep your mouth shut while you're at it-" 

Luke huffed, "Fine! I'm getting dressed-"

" _ Then get dressed and shut up already!" _


	3. Questioner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clive gets asked a lot of questions, some of which he doesn't have the answers to.

Luke followed behind Clive, carrying both of their bags in one arm, and Desmond followed behind him. Wednesdays always felt so slow … and since they'd decided to walk to school, it felt even slower. 

Luke tried to keep up with him, but he was almost jogging with their size difference, it was incredibly hard to walk like this, plus he was carrying twice the baggage he usually would. Desmond was talking their ears off too, "It's just weird to hear someone's having a party, you know? It's as if fate just  _ wants  _ us to relax this year- how can you say you're not going?" He said. 

Clive shrugged, listening to Desmond speak, "I just- wanna wait, you know? I feel like it's too early for everyone to already be pratting around- school only started just two days ago- there isn't even much to talk about yet-" 

"You're just shy-" 

"... Maybe-" Clive admitted. "Plus I have to watch Luke- this is the second day in a row he's puked- it can't be good for him to do it every single day-" 

"Well why not take him with? It'll be fun~"

"You want me to bring Pukey to a  _ party? _ " 

"Well what are you doing instead? Posting sad pictures with sad captions, whining about how "Everyone is so mean 2 me 💔" and then getting with every girl that tries to comfort you? Come on dude- just go if all you want is to get laid-" 

Clive looked away, "that's not it …" he thought for a second, was that it? Did he just wanna get laid?? … Luke looked up at him, " a party?" He asked, and Clive immediately responded, "you're not going-" 

"Wha- why not?" 

"Cause you won't like it anyway- It's just gonna be seniors- and if you hate me then you really won't like them-" 

"... O-okay" Luke sighed, and Desmond tilted his head a little … "Aww- but Lukey wants to go~ Let him go- we'll all go together-!" Desmond said, and Luke looked up at Clive again. 

"C'moooonnnnn Lovey Dovey ~" 

" Hm …"

"Pleaaaaseee? Come on Luke- you wanna go don't you? Ask him!"

"But … he already said no"

Clive smiled, "That's right- good boy Lukey-" he said, and Luke looked at Desmond, "plus- i really don't know anyone yet- so even if I went I'd be all alone and I don't think that's going to be very fun-" 

"Wow- you're so submissive-" 

"No I'm not! Clive said he was gonna kill me if I don't do what he says so I don't have a choice …" 

"You realize he can't actually kill you- right? He'd go to prison for that~"

Luke looked up at Clive, who gave him a dead stare. One that said, "be careful who you believe …" and nothing else. 

"U-um-" Luke looked down, taking hold of Clive's hand, he really just wanted him to slow down a little, and he did, allowing Luke to keep up, "Conflict isn't ideal either- I just want to be friends …" Luke said. 

Desmond sighed, " egh--" he mumbled, " speaking of 'friends', don't Look now but here comes Anthony-"

Clive turned, looking around, "Idiot! I said don't look!" Dez walked up, putting his hand on Clive's shoulder, turning him back the other way. Luke redirected his gaze until he spotted whoever they were talking about, seeing some blonde guy from across the street, he looked angry … his hair was curled at the ends, and instead of a dark gray, his uniform was completely black, red collar flipped around his neck. He was wearing a long black coat that dramatically flowed in the wind as he walked by. 

" You skinny legged twit! Did you fucking sleep Sophia?!" The guy yelled. His voice was really deep, it was about the only thing that Luke noticed. How come everyone but Clive had such a deep voice? They were all like monsters in their own way. 

"Let's go, Love-" Dez said, attempting to pull Clive away. Clive stood still though, stopping in his tracks entirely. Desmond continued to pull at his arm, but Clive didn't move, he turned towards Anthony, "... Huh?" He said, seemingly genuinely confused. 

"Sophia Van Herzen! A girl with purple hair! My literal entire fucking Life- you put your dick in her!"

" … who?"

"Don't play dumb with me!" Anthony got right in Clive's face.

The two seemed like barking dogs from Luke's point of view. For some reason, Clive was playing dumb. Luke could tell that he was, cause it was the same reaction he gave after he did something stupid and Luke called him out for it.

Desmond wrapped his arms around Clive's shoulders, pulling him back like a defensive girlfriend, "He didn't fuck your nasty washed up whore!" 

Anthony gasped …"my Sophia is the most wondrous-"

"ThE pReTtIeSt gUrl iN tHe WoRlD- dude go jerk off- what fucking difference would it make between your hand and her cunt? Maybe if you paid attention to her she wouldn't feel the need to sleep with other guys!" 

"You- have- some nerve! Don't think i don't know you were there too gay boy!" Anthony was absolutely shaking, "you have no idea what he'd done to her- when I returned she was unconscious- and when she finally woke up her legs were so weakened that she couldn't even stand- she had bruises on every inch of her neck and she was so ashamed she couldn't look at me-" 

Clive smirked a little, "sounds familiar" he said, and Anthony let out a loud "REEE" type groan. "Sophia! You clod!" He yelled. 

" … Oh- Sophia? Yea sorry about that- she called me in the middle of the day, saying you were ignoring her- so it was last minute- i didn't get time to clean her up like usual, is she alright?" Clive said. Desmond turned into a statue, and so did Anthony. They both just stood there in silence, unable to even process what had just been said. 

Luke walked up in between them, "We're gonna be late!" He said, pulling Clive by his hand. Clive looked down, "Oh- right - Let's hurry up and ditch him Dez- we're gonna be late too like this-" Clive said. Dez scoffed, holding Clive's other hand as he walked off, sticking his tongue out at Anthony. 

The blonde seemed to not know what to do for a second, shaking from his anger. Luke turned, and in a split second he was moving away, watching the guy crack Clive across the jaw. 

Luke stared at them, Clive's reaction was almost immediate, a loud crunch infecting Luke's hearing along with Anthony's groan. He held his nose in his hands, blood seeping through his fingers and dripping down on the concrete. 

Clive moved his jaw, and spat something out. Luke didn't want to see what it was, but his curiosity got the better of him, and he looked down …  _ a tooth. _

Desmond grabbed Clive, "Stop- the year just started, it's only the third day of school..." 

"..." Clive was quiet for a second. He shoved Desmond away, and Grabbed Anthony by his shirt, reeling his arm back as far as it could go. Anthony flinched, cowering at the last second as he lifted his arms to hide his face, letting out a defensive whimper … 

"What a fucking pussy-" Clive spat blood in his face, shoving him to the ground. He looked down at him, and when he tried to get up, Clive started kicking him ...

Luke just watched … Anthony was on the ground, being violently stomped on, kicked in the stomach. At one point Clive forced the heel of his shoe between his legs, and Anthony seemed to pass out.

He laid unconscious on the ground, wheezing out incoherent moans as tears fell from his eyes onto the concrete. 

Clive just stared down at him, before feeling hands come up to the surface of his back, rubbing him in a slow circle … He breathed, trying to think a little about what he just did, but he … really didn't want to- "Honey … hey …" Desmond said.

"Don't- touch me Dez-"

"Hey hey … Listen- It's alright- he hit you first- you wouldn't have done it if he didn't start with you-"

"I said don't touch me-"

"Clive" Dez forced him to turn around, but Clive still refused to look at him. " Eyes soft as he lifted his arms, hiding his reddening face. " look at me- Clive-"

"No- just- get off me-" Clive swatted him away. 

"It was self defense"

"Kicking someone while they're already down isn't self defense! It's weak shit- he wasn't even gonna fight me for real - so please! try and fucking explain to me why It's perfectly alright that i - just- I'm going to class …" Clive quickly walked past him, picking up his bag as he walked across the street. 

Luke stared at him as he walked away … he didn't ... ever expect to see Clive do something like that. He looked towards Anthony, who was on the ground, sobbing a river into the cracks of the sidewalk, sucking down whatever air he could breathe. Luke looked up as Desmond took his hand, walking him off to class. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Clive took his seat in class, letting out a long-winded sigh. He just wanted to sit down, and forget about what just happened, but he knew that by the end of the day, everybody would be talking about it. He rolled his eyes to himself, before looking at the surface of the table … there was a letter on it, folded with kiss marks covering its surface. "..." He picked it up, and opened it. He wasn't going to respond to whoever this was, but he liked to read them. The nice things that they said made him feel better about himself sometimes.

He skimmed through it, apparently this person was gonna be waiting for him behind the gym at the end of the day … he sighed, looking up to see Desmond finally getting here. "You shouldn't just take off and leave mommy like that- I was worried about you!"

"Sorry …"

"... Another one?" Desmond pulled up a chair next to him. Clive nodded, "She's gonna wait behind the gym … i hate that they always wanna meet in private- it feels so fucking- creepy" Clive squinted down at the note. Desmond hummed, " it's embarrassing to say all that stuff in public though-" 

"You do it all the time-"

"Well yea, but I'm mostly joking around when I say those sorts of things. these girls are  _ usually  _ quite serious- and even when they're not and they just want a ride, it's must be a little embarrassing to say it-" 

" … yeah … especially when you burst out from around the corner all,  _ Oi love- give us a shift will ya? _ " 

Desmond snorted, "well then next time turn them down yourself! Then maybe I won't be known for scaring every girl who tries to ask you out-"

"You know, they call you  _ the obstacle _ " 

"Yes I know- but if they really wanna get to know you then they should honestly just do the normal thing and ask to be friends first- it's not fair to just dump your feelings on someone and expect a boyfriend out of it-"

"Well it worked for - uh- what's his face-"

"Yeah- and then  _ you  _ came along-"

"Aeehh it's fine- they're still dating"

" Yea- who's my little fuckboy huh?" Desmond said, cupping Clive's face. Clive blushed a little, "I- It's not  _ my _ fault- there's a lot of steps involved in that kind of transaction- equal blame-"

"Mmhmm- sure baby-" Desmond let him go. "No more girls who aren't single, alright?"

"You know they're just gonna start ditching their boyfriends right? It'll be far worse than what it is now-" 

"Yes- but that just means they'll snap out of it sooner- and realize that having an urge is…"

Desmond flinched at the sound of metal loudly scraping across the floor. He turned, seeing a girl pull up a chair next to Clive. She scraped it across the floor, and sat down. 

They both looked at her, and then at each other … and then Desmond looked back at her, "who are you?" He asked. 

"Dahlia. Dalia Reinhold." Said Dahlia. She had her hair pulled up into a bun, a heavy amount of makeup caked onto her face. She made it look natural though, Desmond clearly seemed to think she was pretty, but she wasn't looking anywhere near him. Clive seemed a little put off by her, she was well known for being aggressive about the things she wanted, and if she'd coke over here then that probably meant … 

"Clive-" she said. 

"..."

"Aren't you going to say hello? I heard you were the rude type but I-"

"He has anxiety- you can't just drop down on him like that- you gotta let him sniff you first-" Desmond interrupted her, arm snaking itself around Clive's waist, pulling him closer.

"I- Dez!" Clive elbowed him in the side. Dahlia smiled, "I see- well feel free to do whatever makes you comfortable-"

"I don't- it's really not like that-!"

"I'm just kidding- loosen up alright?" She said, leaning back in her chair. " I'm taking AP psychology- and I heard all the rumors about you- so I wanted to study you for my thesis-" 

"... No-"

"No?"

"No."

"Why?"

"I'm- not a lab rat?" 

"Well what if i gave you something in return?"

"I don't think you realize what it is I might ask for-" 

"I'm prepared for anything"

Desmond watched them. He never understood the aggressively flirty types. The two were getting in eachothers faces, saying all kinds of things to seemingly intimidate the other. All it did was bring them closer, and lead them to say things that they didn't mean ...

"You really think i'm supposed to be scared of you? It's you who should be cowering- Do you know what kind of power I possess at this school?" Dahlia cockily said. 

"You won't be saying that later- you can have your little thesis statement or whatever it is you want- but at the end of the day you're just gonna end up a mess-"

"Yea? You really think you can make a mess of me? Ha! I'd really like to see you try- you should stop assuming you're so good at everything cause everyone knows you don't have the courage to lay a hand on me-"

Clive just looked at her "you really think i give a shit about who you are? Maybe you run things at cheer practice but right now you're sitting at  _ my  _ table" 

"Yeah yeah-  _ your _ table- it's just a table- I don't care about you or your table, I have work to do and i'd appreciate if you took it Seriously"

"You're the one not taking it seriously- don't get mad when at the end of the day you're knocked out in bed"

"Yea because i'm  _ so  _ afraid that's going to happen" 

"Oh- so you won't get scared? If i just" he put his hand on her leg, and she jolted, "excuse me? What do you think you're doing?"

He continued, sliding it up under the fabric of her skirt, "you wanna be so bold- let's do it right here then-"

"Wh- what? We're in the middle of class-" she whisper yelled. 

"Oh, what's that? I thought you were prepared for anything-"

"I am!"

"Good," he said. Desmond looked over, watching Clive's hand pull back, a thin lacy piece of fabric coiled around his finger. He looked up at her, who seemed … more than excited.  _ Oh- is she some sort of freak? That makes a lot more sense than being willing to fuck someone for a thesis paper _

Clive pulled his hand back, ripping the fabric off, "you!" She panicked, putting a hand over her mouth. Clive stopped … 

He didn't really wanna do this either. It felt … wrong. He dropped the cloth, and it fell to her ankles, "You're so boring" he mumbled, turning towards Desmond. He didn't really wanna look, now wasn't the time for all of this ...

"Huh? Who told you to stop?" Dahlia asked.

"...  _ What? _ Why on earth would you want me to keep going?" Clive said, his rationality starting to finally peak through.

"This is all a part of my research- these little aggressive tendencies of yours are very interesting- especially since you remain so calm on the outside, but I can see it- you're absolutely burning with rage, all the time, aren't you?" 

"..." 

"..."

"..."

The three of them sat in silence … Clive looked at Desmond, and leaned into his ear, 

_ "What the fuck is going on?! what do i do??? _ " 

Desmond looked over at her … " If you want him then you have to take me too-" he said, in an attempt to drive her away.

"... That's fine- just as long as he answers all my questions-" 

Clive blushed, " _ D-Desmond!! _ "

" _ What?  _ I mean- if she wants to do it then why not?"

"Why would she- i-!?"

Clive turned, looking at her … she waved, and Clive cringed, "You should analyze yourself … but- there is  _ something _ you can do for me-" be said.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Clive listened as Dahlia spoke to the girl he was supposed to be talking to. 

"Don't send him any more notes- he's  _ my  _ boyfriend and I don't appreciate you trying to weasel your way into our relationship"

"I- I didn't know-"

"Well now you do- so go tell all your little gossip buddies that he's taken! And keep his name out of your mouth!"

Desmond smiled, "she's so bossy- I just want her to … I don't know, step all over me-" he said. The two were just around the corner, listening in as Dahlia really gave the poor girl something to be afraid of. Clive nodded … " you think she'll wanna be friends even after I did all that stuff to her?" He asked, and Desmond grinned, "look at you- trying to make friends and stuff!" 

"It- it's just … she doesn't seem afraid of me- all she wanted was to ask some questions and I just- took it so far" Clive said, sighing, "I always ruin my chances of-"

"Shut up- damn- you're so whiny- just apologize to her already" 

"..." Clive shoved Desmond, "rude-" he mumbled. Desmond smiled, "That's my Clive impression- it sucks doesn't it?"

"Yeah-"

Dahlia came from around the corner, " she's gone" she said. Clive nodded, "thanks … sorry about- earlier" 

"It's fine- I put on a new pair"

"I- th- a-anyways, go ahead and ask your questions-" he said, trying not to be flustered. She crossed her arms, "well- for starters- what are things about yourself that you think are problems- and why?"

"... I- don't know-"

"... Hm- were you traumatized by an event in your childhood?"

"Well … stuff happened but I don't know- no? I'm not -"

"Let's just skip that- Tell me what you're insecure about"

"... I smoke- and i'm worried my breath smells like- cigarettes?" 

"...  _ Do you know anything about yourself? _ "

"I don't know …" 

"... This- was useless … well I'm glad i found this out before i wasted my time with you two!" She said. Desmond shrugged, "You wouldn't have regretted it- unless you have a boyfriend- but even then ..." he said. 

"Oh shut it, queen DeeDee … what a waste of time" she mumbled, angrily walking off … 

"... She'll be back" Desmond said, and Clive shrugged, "I mean- we did kinda … almost sort of blackmail her into a three way? Blackmail isn't the right word- manipulate? Uh- either way- can we really blame her for being mad?" 

"I don't think she was actually going to do it- i think she just really wanted those questions answered. I mean- would you fuck someone for homework?"

"... Yeah"

"... I know you would buddy- now come on- Let's go make Lukey puke"

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Luke glared at Clive from the other side of the room … he wanted to ask the questions he needed for his homework, but he … had seen something so horrible today. 

He didn't know if he wanted to know anything about Clive at all. 

So he sat on his bed, staring intensely at him as he anxiously held his bunnie's hand.

Clive was sitting there, music turned all the way up as he texted who Luke could only assume was Desmond. He always typed so fast when they talked, probably because Desmond had a lot to say, all the time... He looked the same as the first day they'd met. Unapproachable, mean, so far away even though it was just three feet … 

Still, Luke had work to do, "U- um … Clive?" He asked, but Clive just ignored him, rolling over on his side … he'd been gargling salt water ever since he got home, and his cheek was pretty swollen. 

Luke wondered if he needed any help with that, maybe if he felt better then he'd talk … but still, "I have to ask … you some stuff- for homework-"

"... Great … fine- ask away" he said, not moving at all. "I promise I won't take that long-" Luke said, digging into his bag for a red notebook. He pulled it out, and flipped through it, "Um- so- what's your favorite color?" 

" … " Clive sat up and looked at Luke. That was such an easy question compared to the one he'd been asked earlier. He didn't know though, if he had a favorite color? … he looked at the little clip in his hair … "red-" he said, looking away. Luke nodded, "favorite food?" 

"Uh- hm- I like strawberries- does that count?" He asked. Luke hummed, "I think so-" he said. 

"Favorite animal?"

"Dogs-"

"Favorite person?"

"Desmond."

" Okay- last one- they said to ask your favorite tv show but i think it'd be better to ask your favorite game instead-" 

" … Favorite game?" Clive thought about it for a second … " shadow of the colossus … it's what I play when ..." He laid back down, not finishing his own sentence. Mostly because he didn't know how to describe the emotion. He played it when he needed to clear his mind, that was the most simple way to put it … 

Luke nodded, "thanks!"

"No problem" Clive mumbled quietly, looking down at his phone. 

He might not know why he is the way he is, but did know a little about who that person was. He didn't need all the answers right now anyways, he'd figure them out later for sure ...


	4. Four corners

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke joins the cheerleaders, and plans on going to a party.

Luke stood outside of the school building, talking to Flora, who had been going on all day about her Roommate. He waited for Clive to come by, eagerly watching out for him, as to not be caught off guard when he arrived. He tended to sneak up on Luke, and scare him, he had entirely too much fun making him uncomfortable ... "And then he just kept crying, all day long. I know he got beat up, but he just .. he was so depressed about it- he was holding onto me the entire day! I barely got any sleep … but still " Flora said. "That was the first time he was ever nice, he just sucks!" She whined, seriously seeming sick of this guy. 

Luke hadn't made the connection that the blonde guy he saw her with on the first day of school had been Anthony until today. It really did feel like a small world … but, he was wondering what life was like for Flora, since they were in about the same situation. He wondered if she got bullied too ...

  
  


" Oh- but he's throwing a party tonight-! And he said i can invite anyone I want" 

"Huh? He's throwing a party on a Thursday?" 

"Oh- my mistake- I meant tomorrow night" She said, "Everyone is gonna be there- and I thought you might want to go with Lili and I-" she said, a soft smile on her face as she twisted her hair in her finger. Luke nodded, starting to get his hopes up higher than he ever thought possible, "can we go together?" He clenched his bag, and she nodded. 

"You should come by my room before it starts- then we can make you look all pretty before you go-!" She said, and Luke was somehow even happier.

"Really?" Luke asked, hoping he wasn't being tricked or something. 

"Yeah- you have a really cute face- i think this lip gloss i have would look nice on you-" she said. 

"Lip gloss? But boys don't wear lip gloss … "

"Huh? Says who? Boys can wear whatever they want." She said definitively. "but if you don't want to then can I at least style your hair?" She asked. Luke blushed a little, and nodded. These were things he did on his own anyway, but it was so nice to hear someone else who seemed to be interested in doing it with him ...

Luke snapped out of his happy moment, hearing a pair of footsteps approach him from behind. He turned, seeing Clive and Desmond walking up to him. "Lukey~!" Desmond shouted, waving at them. Clive looked at him … he smiled the way he always did when he was about to do something incredibly uncalled for, and Luke attempted to run off, "A-ah- well- I should be going" he said, trying to hurry and make an escape before they got close enough. Luke walked down the stairs, but Flora followed him, "are those your roommates?" She eagerly asked, pointing to Clive and Desmond.

They stood at the bottom of the stairs, looking at the two.

"I- uh-" 

"Pukey-!" Clive said, grabbing Luke's arm, "i'm tired so hurry up-" he said, Luke tried to pry his arm from Clive's hand as he was pulled away.

"Wait!" Flora yelled, running down the steps and following after them. Desmond turned, and immediately, his brain seemed to stop working. He watched her carefully descend the staircase, clutching her bag as she followed after them …  _ she looked like a princess _

"You're that boy, right? My big sister was talking about you ..." Flora said, walking right up to Clive. 

Desmond choked, and looked away, clinging to Clive's arm.

"... Um?" Clive asked, Luke still trying to pry himself from the grip. 

"All the other girls were talking about you too- is it true you and she are dating?" Flora asked, "you can tell me if it is! She said you were trying to keep it a secret- and not to tell anyone- but you can tell me!-"

"... No-" 

"no? … but why not?"

"What do you mean why not? She's … " Clive hummed, she wasn't that bad actually … "She's scary-" he mumbled ...

"You're scared of women?"

" … " Clive thought for a second …  _ Was  _ he scared of women? He was pretty sure he was just awkward, he forgave himself most of the time, he was only eighteen, it was hard to talk to girls, but could it really just be that he's got some sort of phobia …? 

"Well- if you are- then- um- i could help you get over it if you want …" she said, anxiously stepping closer. Luke looked at her, "F-Flora!" He said. 

Clive tensed, and looked at Desmond, who … was clearly thinking about something he shouldn't be. He cringed, not wanting to know … but what was he supposed to do about this? He nudged Desmond, so the curly haired clown moved out from behind Clive, speaking directly to her " you really mean that? You can help us out?" He asked, in the most gentle of voices. 

Clive had no idea what he was doing, so he just watched, along with Luke, who had given up struggling to watch this.

"She told me about you too! You're always with him right? She called you an obstacle or something-"

Desmond choked again, but he held it in… he kneeled down to her,

"Yeah- me and him, we're both useless without each other…It's just hard being afraid of half the population" he sighed. Luke huffed, about to call him out for being a krusty Liar before being picked up, held underneath one of Clive's arms. 

"You're afraid too? You poor thing!" She reached up, and Desmond smiled, nearly screaming out loud as she hugged his face ... "It's really bothersome-!" He loudly whined, "I can barely focus in class- i'm always so uncomfortable-!" 

"It's okay- I understand-" she said, and Luke … cringed. Clive was making the exact same face, slowly shuffling off, carrying Luke with him. Desmond stayed behind, absorbing all of the comfort that he didn't really need right now. He waved them off, trying to say " _ go on without me- leave me to die- save yourself- blehhh" _

"That guy …" Clive mumbled, and Luke quietly agreed. He looked back, seeing Flora and Desmond holding hands or something. Luke knew she really just wanted to help, she wasn't actually interested in boys like that, so Desmond had little to no chance with her. 

Then again, even though Desmond was strange, he seemed to take joy in just being friends, even simple acquaintances for him were almost as important as normal relationships … or at least it seemed that way. 

Luke sighed, he was gonna be worrying about Flora for forever now. Who's to say he won't try something weird? "I got invited to a party today." Luke said, trying to start a conversation to maybe speed up their walk ...

"Cool- you're not going" Clive immediately replied, gripping Luke as he walked. Luke huffed, not at all alright with being held like this, "Yes I am! You don't tell me what to do!" 

"If you go then I have to go with you, and I'm not going- so you're not going" 

"That isn't fair! I can go by myself!" Luke said, giving up on his struggling. Clive rolled his eyes, "fine- we'll both go then-" he said. Luke looked up and smiled, "Really?" He asked, was Clive finally gonna be nice to him??

"Yeah- whatever-" he said, and Luke could barely contain his excitement. He grinned, happily swinging his legs as he was carried home. He couldn't wait to get there … 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Luke stood up at the sink, washing the dishes they'd been using up all day. He hummed quietly to himself, almost done cleaning up their space. He was starting to enjoy having some mundane task to do while he was at home, it made the time fly by faster, and he'd be ready to sleep when it was time for bed. He still hated cleaning though, and he knew it'd be wrecked again tomorrow, but it didn't matter, because it wasn't like he had a choice anyways. 

The bathroom door opened, and Clive stepped out, not wearing anything but a pair of briefs as he dried off his wet hair, looking over at Luke … 

Luke looked up, feeling eyes on him …

"... Is there something on my face?" 

" No- but what's in your shirt?" Clive pointed. Luke looked down … "nothing- it's just baggy-" he said, moving the fabric of his overshirt around.

Clive didn't seem to believe him, "Are you hiding something? What did you take-"

"I didn't take anything! You're so paranoid all the time!"

"Cause you're always digging your hands into stuff-!" 

Luke huffed, "The only time I touch anything around here is when I'm cleaning up, if you don't want me going through your things then maybe you should clean up your own messes." Luke put the last cup into the drainer, and dried his hands with a paper towel. Clive ignored him, going over to his bed, "if I find out something is missing I'll cut your fingers off … and I can't wait until we get to the party and you're throwing up on everyone- I literally cant fucking  _ wait  _ for you to get laughed at" 

"That's not gonna happen!" Luke yelled, and Clive scoffed, "we'll see" he said with a sly smile. 

Luke stepped down from the sink, walking over to his bed. He turned the light off on the way there ... Clive seemed to watch him as he moved, laying back in his own bed. Luke stopped, standing in the gap between their mattresses, "Don't come over here trying to cuddle me if you hate me so much, you weirdo" 

"Go to bed"

"I mean it! Stay away from me!" 

Clive didn't reply, flicking his lamp off … Luke glared at him through the darkness, wishing he could just punch him in the back of the head. He Couldn't though, laying down in his own bed instead. He tried not to think about it at all … and just go to sleep.

  
  


…

  
  


It felt so early, a little bit of sunlight shone through the window, making the room look cold as the curtains blocked most of the light. Luke opened his eyes, feeling incredibly hot. He turned, trying to get out of whatever was holding him. He was rolled up into his blanket, laying in Clive's arms as the big baby of a guy seemingly found closure in drooling all over the plush fabric of Luke's bedsheets. He had his face stuffed in it, leg thrown around Luke's blanketed body as he hugged it close. Luke didn't even bother to struggle, this was the third night in a row, he might as well just accept that Clive has some weird problem with sleeping alone. 

He stared up at the ceiling, tired out of his mind … but as he was staring, he was also starting to realize that he didn't wake up because he was hot, he woke up because he needed to pee, really, really bad. 

He tried to hold it … but, he really needed to go before his stomach burned a hole through him, so he spoke, "C-clive …" but there was no answer. He tried again, "Clive? …  _ Clive- _ " he whined … starting to feel afraid that he wouldn't be able to hold it. He figured it'd be fine to do it in Clive's bed, after all, it's what he deserved …

" _ WAKE THE HECK UP!! _ "

"shut … pukey" Clive nuzzled Luke, and Luke huffed, "Pervert!! I'm gonna scream if you don't let me go!" He yelled, getting really tired of going through this every night. Clive shrugged, " do it and see what happens" he threatened, loosening his grip a little. 

"Clive I have to pee!!" 

"... Ugh-" Clive sat upright, picking Luke up in his arms, carrying him long ways towards the bathroom. He yawned, "you're always waking me up- what's the point of the alarm if you're not gonna let it go off?" He grumbled. He walked Luke over to the toilet, holding him up in front of it. Luke watched as Clive started pulling up the blanket, exposing Luke's night clothing. Luke stared down, "n-noo!!" He yelled, "I can't go with you watching!!" 

"Relax, it's fine-"

"I don't want you to see me down there either!!" 

"You've seen mine, it's not that serious, and I literally don't care-" 

Luke closed his legs as Clive reached for his shorts, not knowing what else to do, "Stop it i'm gonna throw up!!" He said, not really meaning it, but he wanted Clive to let him the fuck go, right now. 

When Clive didn't stop, he did the only other thing he felt would work 

And …

Well, at least he didn't have to pee anymore … 

"... You …" Clive just … set him down … and turned, walking right out of the bathroom, paying no mind to the sound of trickling liquid coming from Luke. 

He stood there, watching the door shut, Hearing Clive's bed creak as he laid back down. He just … stared down into his reflection in the toilet bowl water, wondering why it just had to be him. He'd ruined his blanket, and Clive's mini washer wasn't gonna be enough to fix it. 

He sniffled as the trickling sound stopped, his face burning hot as he tried not to cry ...

He wished he didn't have to constantly be humiliated just to go to school every day … 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Luke sat next to Clive on the bus, quietly staring down at the floor while Desmond stood in front of them, holding onto the ceiling handle … they sat in silence, feeling the bus jerk a little as it stopped … 

People flooded on, and Luke gasped as he was suddenly picked up, being set down on Clive's legs, making room for someone else to sit beside him. "What do you think you're doing?" He huffed, and Clive just looked at him, "Making space for other people- don't be so  _ pissy _ about it" Clive said, and Luke blushed, looking down at his shoes. 

"Whaa? No way- Let's switch positions .." Desmond said to Clive, who shrugged, " I don't feel like standing- you can have him on the way back" Clive said, watching Desmond pout. "That's no fair, you're always doing all this stuff with him and I can't even hold him for a second? So selfish~" he sighed, in a much too loving way. Luke blushed, "He doesn't even like this kind of stuff, You're just a freak." Luke mumbled. 

Clive wrapped his arms around his waist, "Don't call Dez a freak" He said, slouching over Luke. "Or I'll crush you to death" he hissed. Dez smiled, "My hero~" he said, and Clive nodded. Luke folded forward, holding in an outburst and trying not to make a scene, but they were always being weird in public, they were probably known for it by now. 

The bus stopped again, and Clive watched as a familiar face got on. 

A lot of people seemed to get off as she did, moving past her but not daring to even let the corner of their clothing touch hers. 

Desmond turned, " … see? I told you she'd come back-" He smiled, all too happy as Dahlia stood next to him, "you-" she said, looking directly at Clive. 

"Ha?"

"Don't  _ hUh _ me! Why are you telling people we're dating? My little sister got word and she kept hounding me until i made something up- are you ready to give me serious answers or something?" 

"What? Why would I do that?"

"How should I know?"

"... It- doesn't it make more sense for it to be the girl you scared off?" 

"I told her to keep her mouth shut, she wouldn't have told a soul-" 

"Well I didn't tell anyone either-" 

"... Did  _ you  _ say something?" She turned towards Dez, who smiled, " I'll tell you for a footjob-" he said. Getting a grossed out, hesitant step backwards in response.

"I shouldn't have even asked- You both need to find out who's been talking shit."

"Why can't you do it?"

"I'm busy-" Dahlia tilted her chin up, "And it's all your fault in the first place- learn to be responsible for your actions or  _ there will be consequences _ " 

"Ooh- you wanna play punishment games with us?" 

"... Y- Is he always like that?" 

Luke and Clive both nodded. "He doesn't mean it … i think" Luke said, looking up at her. "And who are you? His assigned baby?" Dahlia asked. Luke huffed, "I'm not a baby-" he crossed his arms. 

"He's my roommate …" Clive held onto him, "He's annoying as shit but he's been getting pretty squishy lately" he said, squeezing Luke's thigh. Luke smacked his hand, and Clive pinched his leg. 

Dahlia watched them quietly fight, bickering to each other … she hummed, squinting at Luke. "You- you're cute. Do you wanna be popular?" She asked, and Luke looked up. "... N-no- I just want more friends-"

"We can be friends-" she smiled, "You come join the cheer team, and I'll be the best friend you could ever make here-" 

" _ Cheerleader Luke - oh god _ " Desmond choked, covering his face. "Lukey~ you have to-! Clive please let him- just imagine- Luke turning just as feisty as her- it'd be- too much" he wheezed. 

"... hm" Clive mumbled. 

"Come on! You won't let him go to parties, he can't join after school activities- this is unhealthy!" 

"He's mine- I don't give a shit- all I need him to do is keep our room clean and stay alive, forget everything else" Clive said, having his face pushed away. "I wanna join!" Luke said, reaching out for Dahlia. She grinned, "That's right- We're gonna be besties-" she said, a chill running down her spine as she reached out. Clive was somehow cranking the threatening vibe up to a thousand, staring her down like an abrasive, angry dog. 

"Hmf- I'll let you watch us practice" she said, opening and closing her hands for Luke. 

" _ Clive please- please do this one thing for me- i'll be good forever just please say yes- _ " Desmond begged. 

Clive … hesitantly let go, "You're drooling- Dez-" He mumbled. He didn't  _ want  _ to watch, but he had the feeling that planting the idea of watching in Dez's mind might make it impossible to contain him later. 

Luke jumped into Dahlia's arms, leaving his bag in the seat. It looked like she was holding a baby with how Luke was clinging to her, 

Clive just sighed, unable to think this would end up well …

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


"Can you walk me to class every day?" Luke asked, carrying his bag in his hand as he followed Dahlia to her locker. She nodded, and he sighed in relief. It was the middle of the day, and after being walked to class and back by her, he could honestly say she took way better care of him than Clive could. "Don't you worry about anything, alright? That's what i'm for" She said, taking out her phone. " Your next class period is Gym, right?" She asked, and Luke nodded. 

"Well you're not going, I've already talked to your coach, and starting today, you'll spend your gym period practicing with me-"

"... I-is Clive gonna be there?"

"Not if you don't want him to be. This school is  _ my  _ territory, he has no say in what happens where" 

"... A-are we really friends?" Luke asked, and Dahlia looked away from her phone, looking at him … "Of course we are- now- I'll need you to follow me to the bathroom so I can take your measurements" she said. 

"... D-do I have to take my clothes off?"

"Well- i can have another boy do it if you're uncomfortable" She said, taking out a roll of measuring tape from her locker. She closed it, and Luke shook his head, "i just- don't like to let people see me like that-" he held himself in a hug, and she tilted her head … 

"... Hm- the most i'll have to do is reach under your shirt, is that okay?"

He nodded, "really, I can have someone else do it" she offered again. Luke shook his head, and she gave him a smile, "I won't take long at all, I promise" 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


… 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Luke sat next to Dahlia at lunch, flora and Lili at his side. They didn't all usually have lunch together, which was strange since Flora was Dahlia's sister. Luke just figured that maybe they didn't wanna spend all their time together, which made sense. 

The lunch room was crowded usually, so they were all eating outside at the tables nearby. With so many students, having everyone eat at the same time was a little challenging. The campus had restaurants everywhere, and small convenience stores. Everything opened at 10am, and closed at 9pm, it really felt like being in a little town. Not only that, but most things were really inexpensive, or could be paid for with funds provided by the school itself. 

Luke really felt lucky to be here sometimes … 

He wasn't eating, just staring down at his food, wondering what he'd be expected to do once he actually joined the team, but he didn't wanna disappoint. " … so- are you going to the party?" Luke asked, and Dahlia looked down at him, "It seems a little early for all that, it's only the first week …" she said, picking at her fries as she thought about it. 

"I'm going! It's gonna be so much fun- and I made a friend who said he'd go with us!" Flora said, biting down on a really hard brownie. It almost looked like a brick in her hand, Luke wondered where she's even gotten it from. 

"i'm going too-" said Lili, and Luke hummed, adding in his own "me too" 

Dahlia sighed, "then i guess i have no choice but to go, if all of you are going to be there" she said. "Still, I get a feeling it's a bad idea, who's throwing this party anyways-?" She asked. Flora smiled, "Anthony is! He said he wants to drink away his problems and forget about that- um- he used a bad word but you get the picture" she said, having finally taken a chunk out of the piece of chocolate. 

"Sophia … I called it, you know. I told her to hurry up and ditch him, because he wasn't as interested as he seemed- but she fell for it anyways" Dahlia sighed, " sometimes I wonder why people don't take my advice-" she huffed, eating a fry. 

" … hm-" Luke anxiously stared down at his cherry tomato salad, and picked one up, nibbling at it. "Um- are we allowed to have parties?" Luke asked, and Dahlia laughed loudly, "Of course not!" She said, slapping her hand against the table. "We'd all be dead if someone found out- no, usually we dedicate the top floor of a building, that tall one all the way back there in the distance-" she pointed to the stories high residential building beyond the trees. " Or any four buildings in the corner- this place is like a huge square-" she said. "We go up to the top- where nobody can hear us- we shut all the curtains, and get things that glow in the dark- it's a lot of fun actually … yeah- you know what? We all should go together-" she said, "maybe this year we'll hit all four corners- wouldn't that be something?" She seemed happy … 

"Hit all four corners?" Luke asked, and Dahlia nodded. "It doesn't happen often, but if we can manage to successfully throw four parties, in all four corners of the campus, then we throw one big one in that huge complex in the middle, and we use the whole building" she said. "it happened two years ago, everyone got busted but the school keeps it under wraps. They cant afford to expel everyone, or even a select handful of people since they'll be messing up living arrangements. The most you'll get is a slap on the wrist and a little Time out in your dorm, but it's all worth it. That had to be the best night of my life …" she looked over at the building. " … i'm gonna miss this place when I graduate, you guys are Lucky you get to experience it, this is my last year …" She sighed, and kept eating. 

Luke looked down, picking up another tomato. There was so much about this school that he just … didn't know …

The three looked at eachother, only one thought going through their minds … " _ we have to make this happen! _ "


	5. Human nature

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke finally gets to go to the party, and though he's pretty shocked by a few things, he ends up having a nice time.

Luke didn't wait for Clive to come pick him up after school. Instead, he was taken back to Dahlia's room, along with Flora and Lili. They had already told him that they wanted to dress him up, but he had no idea what they would try and get him to wear. He had been sort of excited for the entire duration of the walk to Dahlia's dorm, it was on the third floor of a short building that rested near the back end of the school. Luke thought the inside of her room was pretty, everything was blue, and she seemed to really like pearls. Her bed was in the shape of a seashell, and it was the only bed in the room. Luke wondered if she had a roommate at all, cause it just seemed like she was by herself in here. 

She sat Luke down in a big woven chair in front of her dresser, Making Luke look any cuter than he already did was turning out to be sort of a challenge, they'd tried putting him in all different outfits but none of them seemed to really bring out the inner beauty that they all collectively saw. 

They were all just staring at him right now, trying to comprehend what the hell to do with him, as he sat there in what made him look like a skater boy … "You know what? I think you'd look better in something less … teenage dirtbag esq- " Said Dahlia, taking a bright ribbon from out of Luke's hair. She'd put it there to see if Luke would make a cute tomboy, and he did, but for some reason she just didn't personally like it. Flora seemed to agree with a nod of her head, "I think white would be good for tonight- since everything is going to be dark- right? Then when we give him all the glow in the dark stuff- he'll shine like an angel" Flora smiled. 

"Hm- you don't mind wearing something a little revealing do you?" Dahlia asked, reaching down into the pile of clothing that had been dumped on the floor in the heat of their search. She pulled a few things out, holding up a frilly white tube top and a pair of matching shorts. "... Um- do you have anything with sleeves?" Luke stared at the clothing, wondering why she conveniently had things in his size … she just smiled, causally dismissing the statement, "you can wear a jacket over it, I promise it's not going to be cold though" she set the clothes down in luke's lap. "I think this, along with some feather earrings and white glow sticks would look cute" The three looked at him … 

He stood from the chair, taking the clothes and heading into the bathroom to put it on. He severely hoped he would feel comfortable wearing this, cause he wasn't in the mood to change again. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Luke stood on the bus, hanging onto Dahlia's leg for support. They were all wearing black, red glow sticks hanging off of their shoulders and arms. Dahlia had on a black pair of jeans with a crop top that Luke consciously avoided looking up at … he held onto her as the bus stopped, shaking everyone inside. Flora was wearing a black sweater dress with an opening in its chest, along with a pair of platform shoes. They weren't all that big, she could walk comfortably in them with no problem, which was the main concern when Dahlia gifted them to her. Her earrings were clip ons, dangling beaded chains hanging at the sides of her head, slightly hidden by her hair, which she'd put down for the occasion, and curled. 

Luke thought she looked cute, but even Lili was dressed in all black. She wore a black band shirt and a ripped skirt, a black beanie that severely contrasted with her blonde, almost white hair. 

Meanwhile, he was dressed in all white. A frilly top that exposed his shoulders, puffing up around his chest, allowing his stomach to remain visible. He'd put on a white jean jacket, it had little strings of thread coming off at its ends, and it made for a great match with his shorts. They were made from the same material, being slightly tighter than what he usually wore, exposing his scented lotion covered legs to everyone he walked by. He wore a pair of white running shoes, jeweled white feather earrings hanging from the aching holes in his ears. Dahlia had actually pierced them today, and they still stung a little.

"So- you three know to stick together right? I want to trust you Flora, so don't let me down-" she said, giving her little sister a pat on the head. Flora smiled, "don't worry, we'll all stay together- and if we do get separated then we have each other's phone numbers" she said, holding up her device. Dahlia nodded, "You get into any trouble, you call me- and I'll be there no matter what- okay? I mean it" she said. She sounded a little worried about them, which made Luke worry a little too. If there was something to be scared of then he wanted to know, he needed to know, because there wasn't any way he was gonna willingly put himself in danger. 

He sighed, holding onto her. He didn't think she was bossy like Desmond said, she just seemed to care a lot about the things that were important to her. The school, her sister, her classes, she worked hard for everything. Not only that, but she was so much more comforting to be around than those other two … he almost felt bad for thinking that ... he wanted to be friends, but they just made it feel so impossible. 

"Are you alright Luke?" Dahlia asked. Luke looked up, and then looked back down, forgetting all about her shirt, "I- just- feel a tad bit exposed-" he admitted, and she smiled, "well that's what the jacket is for, don't be afraid to zip it up" she said. 

"... Are you sure it's okay for me to wear this? i like it but- everyone else might think-" 

"BZZT wrong-" Dahlia said, "You're with me now- and my friends don't have to care what  _ anyone  _ thinks. Even if we weren't friends though, really, you shouldn't get hung up on that stuff. No matter what you look like there's always gonna be  _ someone  _ who doesn't like it. That's why I just wear what I wanna wear- my clothes have nothing to do with who I am" she huffed, really sounding like she needed to get that out. "People call my sis a lot of mean names cause she's taller than what a girl normally is- i think they're just jealous cause it makes her look like a queen" Flora huffed. The level of admiration … Luke blushed, was he turning into a siscon?

_ Jealous … _

He hummed, he'd been picked on for being the way he was, but he doubted it was because anyone was jealous of him at all. That just didn't make any sense … maybe it was just because he never said anything. Maybe if he was more like Dahlia, and stuck up for himself, people would leave him alone. 

The bus stopped again, and Dahlia moved, "Alright-" she said, tugging at her spiked collar. The four of them stepped off of the bus, able to hear the faint sound of music playing. Luke looked around, not seeing very many people outside of the building. He figured, they were all slowly pooling in, trying to be discreet. They all walked up together, going inside and stepping into the elevator. 

As Luke stood there, rising to the top floor, he felt anxious about coming here. The music was getting louder, and he could feel the vibrations running through his legs at the beat of the music. Flora seemed to already want to dance, doing a little shoulder movement while they waited. The elevator stopped, and … it was pitch black. 

Luke was almost amazed, the hallway was beautifully illuminated with blue glow sticks and some sort of paint that seemed to illuminate about the same color. They stepped out of the elevator, and it closed. His last chance to turn back lowering down onto the bottom floor, or wherever it was going. 

There were people moving around from room to room, doors opened and closed as people moved from room to room, the sound of feet shuffling and people chattering became more apparent as they walked down the hall. 

"don't go in any room with a sock on the door handle" Dahlia said, and then she left … 

Luke watched her enter a room where a bunch of other girls were. They seemed happy to see her, handing her a tiny bottle of something. 

Luke continued to walk, peering into every single room. Flora and Lili walked with him, "It looks really cool in here- it's like a secret Club or something" she said, flinching out of the way as someone came bursting out from behind a corner. 

A girl with long purple hair, and a pink dress came running out. Her black boots tapped against the floor with a loud clack of the heels. She ran, honestly going pretty fast for someone in heels as she moved, sobbing into her sleeves as her smeared makeup ran down the sides of her face … " … i wonder what happened to her?" Lili asked, continuing to walk. Flora nodded, entering the room where she came from. 

Luke just stood there … he turned back around, following after her. "W-wait!" He yelled, running down the hall, managing to almost catch up to her before she stopped in front of the elevator. She turned, and Looked at Luke … "... What is it?" She asked, wiping her face off. Luke tensed, "I- well i mean… what's wrong?" He asked, standing there … she looked away, blushing, "It isn't any if your business-"

"I- i know- but are you gonna be alright?" 

"What do you care?!"

"... " Luke shrugged, " I didn't mean to make you upset- I just thought, if I could talk to you then you wouldn't want to cry anymore-" Luke said, slowly shuffling away. " I don't really have anything to do- this is my first party so I guess I'd rather talk to someone than do all the other stuff" Luke said. 

She looked down … "seems like you're the one who needs to talk- did you come here by yourself?" She asked, wiping her face as she walked towards Luke. Luke shook his head, "I came with a few friends- did you come alone?" He asked. She nodded, "I'm Sophia … I came to see my boyfriend- I did something horrible to him recently, so right now he doesn't really wanna talk to me … but-" she sat down against the wall, crossing her legs. Luke sat down next to her, "He was absolutely horrible the entire time we dated- He was just- so nice-" She said. 

"Oh- well- I'm Luke … also- isn't that a good thing?" 

"Not when it gets obsessive- he'd constantly comment about my looks, and tell me I was pretty- and perfect- and that I have a nice body- but that was all he seemed to care about …" she wiped her nose, "At first it was fine- You know, most boys are like that, but it doesn't mean they don't care about you as a person. They just think you're pretty- and they'd like you to know how pretty you are. Most of them think it'll make you happier- and that's all they really want- for you to be happy … but not this guy- he never listened to a thing I had to say, never." She said, sniffling. "I've made lots of academic achievements since I've been here- and even though I was proud of them- he didn't seem to care- he only wanted me to look nice … and he expected me to be that way all the time- he found it strange that I didn't wear makeup to bed, and that i slept with my hair rolled up. I tried to forgive him but then one day …" she started to cry, "I found out- I'm  _ pregnant _ " she said. 

Luke reached out, gently stroking her arm as she cried. "And he was so happy- until I started gaining weight- and then he decided that I was lazy, and wasn't taking care of myself- so I decided i was fed up with being treated like garbage- and I started to look for someone who would actually care about me- as a person. There were always better guys than him, I have no idea what made me stay for so long-" She said. 

"Maybe … it was because you liked him?" Luke said. She nodded, "I did like him, we got along- i thought he was interesting … but he cares too much about appearances- he's even down on himself about his looks- it's freaky" She cringed. "so I found someone else … he was pretty mean- but I don't think it was on purpose. I thought- he was funny- and he was nice- but most of all he didn't talk over me, he actually listened to what I had to say- and not just halfway listening- he  _ listened  _ … but he refused to talk about himself, that was the only downside- and … he was kind - known for getting around" she said. 

Luke looked away, knowing exactly who she was talking about. "Still, despite the mystery- he was charming- and he didn't even mind that I was pregnant with someone else's baby … i didn't date him, but he made me feel like i was actually worth something … and then my boyfriend went and punched him in the face! And now neither of them wanna talk to me- and i just- is it my fault? I should have just- broken up with him so long ago!" She said, sounding so frustrated. 

"... I don't think it's your fault-" Luke said, "I think maybe you should have told him how you felt, and … that- maybe he was just scared of what people would think about him, since sometimes my roommate doesn't wanna be seen with me either. I think if I was tall and pretty then he wouldn't mind, but I'm not-" Luke said. 

Sophia smiled, "I think you're pretty-" she said, and Luke blushed, "Oh- well-" he hid his face, "but I don't have that kind of body yet- and I'm so short still- sometimes I wonder if he would be nice if i was bigger … maybe we could actually be friends" Luke sighed. "Well you don't need friends who only care about how you look, you should get friends that care about who you actually are- unless you wanna end up like me" 

Luke nodded, and Sophia stood up, "I'm going to go home- I think I … might have to leave school and do my work from home- Life isn't too pretty for me right now- my parents are going to have a cow" She mumbled. Luke stood up, "I hope things get better- you seem really nice" he said, and she smiled, "I'm glad you think so …" 

She walked off, entering the elevator, going straight down … 

Luke sighed, and hesitantly turned back around, getting up. He had no idea where he was going, or where Flora and Lili were, so he just made his way towards the end of the hallway. 

The lights in that room seemed to be turned off, but there was a soft voice ringing out, seemingly amplified by what seemed to be a microphone. Luke felt drawn to it, so he stepped closer, and peeked inside. 

He saw Clive, laying in a bed without his shirt, Desmond laying next to him, along with a bunch of other girls, and one guy with wavy orange hair who was wearing a lab coat, sitting on the side of the bed. The girls seemed to outnumber the guys, six to three, all having their shoes off, thrown across the room. Desmond was just in his briefs, for once being quiet as he listened to the sound of Clive singing. 

His voice might have been higher pitched … but- it sounded really beautiful. Luke knew that was a weird thing to think about Clive, the guy who slapped him the other day because he was "looking at him the wrong way." The guy who'd already beaten someone up this year, and apparently slept with his girlfriend.

Though, right now Luke thought he looked … sort of delicate. He looked less threatening, less like he wanted to hurt someone, and more like he wanted to be loved or something. Luke thought he looked normal … Letting his voice rise and fall to the tune of the song. He was holding a microphone, arm hooked around the shoulder of some girl who probably didn't know Luke had to wash his dirty clothes. He doubted that anyone in the room really knew anything about Clive, and yet he was closer to them than he could ever be with Luke. There was a screen with lyrics on it, scrolling by at the speed of Clive's singing, But he wasn't really looking at it. 

He was looking into the eyes of some girl, who was staring back at him. It felt tense, Luke got the impression that he was singing to her, and she seemed to think so too, visibly curling up at the sound of his voice as he let his arm snake around her waist. Luke didn't know why he was staring, but he just … couldn't look away. 

He felt his heart start to pump faster, and he was calmed, curiously standing in the doorway as he listened … it was almost ironic how nice he sounded, considering he acted like a complete tool most of the time.

Clive had the same creepy smile he always did, but for some reason it looked different right now. It looked like he was trying to make her feel some sort of way, draw out a certain emotion, but he had no idea he was doing it to Luke too. 

He was singing a song called human nature. He had gotten to the end, and started passionately singing the vocals, no doubt just trying to impress the people in the room. Desmond grinned, "Show off" he said, and Clive shrugged, passing him the microphone, " I got into it~" he said. Desmond picked up something from an ashtray, "I'm surprised all that smoking doesn't make your voice sound like you're taking it up the ass" Desmond said, passing Clive something. 

"You shouldn't smoke, It's bad for you!" Said the girl laying at the end of the bed … Clive just looked at her, " I'm stressed~ my roommate just sorta went missing … i'm pretty sure he's with Dahlia but i just-  _ eh _ " he mumbled. His eyes were red, and he seemed calm taking in the smoke from whatever was in that white, rolled up piece of paper. "He's with Dahlia, she texted a while ago-" Desmond said. 

"What? how long ago?"

"... Uh ... a  _ while _ ago …" 

"Why didn't you tell me!?" Clive yelled, groaning loudly, "i've been thinking about it all day, Dez!" 

Desmond grinned, "You worried about him~ it was cute- i'm sorry Clive~" Desmond said, nuzzling his neck. Clive huffed, and the girl at the foot of the bed, who'd now moved up, laying her head in his lap, gave him a kiss on the stomach, "Poor baby- I'll make you feel better" 

Luke pulled all the way away, and actually walked off. " _ No no no no no no  _ " he mumbled to himself, trying not to think of how scared he suddenly was. He didn't see anything weird, no, nope, not at all.  _ Terrifying _ , that was horrible. He felt a chill run down his spine, and he kept walking until he found his own friends. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Luke stumbled his way up the stairs, trying to keep his eyes open to see where he was going. He failed though, tripping and falling on his way inside the hallway as he exited the staircase. He had stayed at the party until it ended, meeting probably just about everyone in school. He'd been held all night, and he'd danced with people, made friends, but he was so tired, and he'd drunk Something that made him feel strange … Flora had walked him home, carrying Luke on her shoulder. Dahlia had apparently gone home with Desmond, so Flora was left to walk herself home. She had Lili with her though, and a can of mace, so Luke figured she would be fine. He would have offered, but he could barely stand, so there wouldn't be much he could do. She had stopped in front of the building, and Luke promised he could walk to his room from where she dropped him off. He sat up, it was about 3am from what his phone had to him. It was just … so early. Why did it have to be so early? He stood, hands to the wall as he walked towards the room. 

The hallway seemed to twist and turn, coiling around in a spiral, sending Luke stumbling from wall to wall as he just tried to get back to his room. He couldn't stop tripping over his legs though, they just felt so wobbly, and everything was spinning … 

Luke finally got to the door, taking his key out of his pocket. He stuck it in, and twisted it, shoving the door open before he collapsed on the floor. 

Clive had waited for him, he'd been sitting on his bed, occasionally glancing at the door, waiting for Luke to get back home … 

He wanted to scold him, but Luke was clearly blackout drunk, which means that he gets a free pass for actually doing something that you'd do at a party. He actually came home later than Clive did, so this time he'd get off … but next time he wouldn't be so lucky. 

Clive stood up, and walked over to Luke, gently picking him up in his arms, immediately being clung to. Luke would pretty much hold onto anyone that held him, Clive figured it was just because he was a baby ... He went red in the face as he saw what Luke was wearing, he looked like a completely different person. 

" _ Baby? Not dressed like this he's not- Is he a cross dresser? Look at his stomach poking out- he probably ate so much- chubby face … it's not cute- "  _

Clive set Luke down on his bed, covering him up with his blanket as he quickly went back over to the door, closing it. He felt the need to wipe his hand off, as if baby germs would be on it, and he'd start shrinking or something. He hoped that wasn't Luke's elaborate way of weaselling himself out of trouble, cause Clive wouldn't be able to bring himself to shove this in a vent …

Or could he- he probably could if it was Luke. No matter what he looked like, Clive still felt like he hadn't gotten his revenge for that vomit incident yet, but he'd do it eventually …

For now though, he was enjoying his friday, having not seen Luke all day long, he sort of … missed seeing his bobble head. Clive mostly felt like it was because he could get expelled if something happened to Luke, especially if it happened while Clive was supposed to be watching him. 

He was working his anger back up, Luke really should have called him and told him he was going to be with Dahlia, or they should have texted him directly. He sighed, and laid back in his bed, wondering what the fuck he was gonna do with Luke in the morning. It would be their first weekend together, and he wasn't looking forward to spending any  _ quality time  _ with him.


	6. Bi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clive figures it out

Luke leaned over the toilet, holding his stomach as he tried not to vomit anymore. His organs ached with each breath he took, and he didn't even have anything left in the tank … his head hurt, he was hot, dizzy, even little things like being touched made him wanna scream out in agony. Clive watched him from the bathroom doorway, trying not to seem smug about it. He wasn't enjoying this, if something bad happened to Luke then he'd be in some serious trouble, but still, he felt like it was a little deserved … but even then, watching Luke curl up like that and cry … into a toilet … was kind of sad, and gross. 

"Cwivee- what's wrong with mee?" Luke asked, finally done throwing up. Clive just looked at him for a second, wondering what he should say … "you have a hangover" he states, arms folded across each other as he leaned onto the doorway. "A whaa?" Luke sadly asked, wiping his face with the toilet paper. He stood, flushing the toilet as he held his stomach. "A hangover" Clive said, holding his arms out. 

Luke walked over to him, all but falling onto him before he was picked up. "you act like such a baby … this is what happens when you drink too much- so don't do it again-" Clive said, carrying Luke over to his bed. Luke nodded, "It didn't even feel good- i was just dizzy and - warm- and my stomach burned so much-" Luke said. Clive sat down, gently rubbing his back, "Quiet … " he leaned up against his headboard, "did you walk home on your own?" He asked, and Luke shook his head. "flora walked with me … but i walked up the stairs by myself-" Luke said. His head was absolutely pounding, and talking really only made it worse. 

"Don't do that- if someone finds you stumbling around drunk then you'll be expelled- do you know how lucky you are to have not gotten caught?" Clive said … 

"I'm shorry" 

"You better be fucking  _ shorry  _ " Clive said … " so … you like apple juice- and you like cake- what about eggs?" He said. Luke nodded … Clive started listening things off, asking if he ate it or not. Most of it was a yes, until he said oysters, since Luke hadn't ever had an oyster, but he'd seen it and it looked pretty gross … "I'm gonna go to the store … don't leave the room" Clive said. 

Luke just sighed, pulling away from him, "Wait- why are you holding me like I'm some baby ? I can take care of myself." he slurred. 

"... Shut up- your breath stinks" Clive worriedly replied, cradling Luke in his arms. Luke closed his eyes, "then … stop smelling it- you weirdo …" he relaxed … he suddenly went limp. His face was so angry, but it was kind of cute how he curled up when he went to bed … no, he's not cute. He's gross, he just spent thirty minutes vomiting … Clive was still amazed at how fast he fell asleep though. "You  _ are  _ a baby" he mumbled, laying Luke down on the bed, resting him up against the pillows. Luke angrily pulled Clive's blanket up over his head, and Clive chose not to audibly laugh at him to his face.

He stretched, cracking his hack as he walked over to his dresser, grabbing a card from off of its surface, along with his keys before he left. 

He didn't keep much food for himself, mostly because he usually just ate at school, and on the weekends- 

"Cliiveee!" Desmond said, carrying a brown paper bag in his hands …

Desmond would bring him food. "hey-" Clive said, continuing to walk down the hall as Desmond followed after him. "What's wrong? Didn't have fun last night~?" 

" I did- but Pukey came home really late- and he was throwing up all morning" Clive said, shoving his card and his keys in his pocket. "And what- so you're worried?" Desmond asked. 

"Duh- If he gets seriously sick then I'm gonna get kicked out …" 

"Aww- then you'll have to come work for me and be my maid- I promise I'll treat you good~" 

"You're so …  _ anyway-"  _ Clive mumbled. "I'm going to go get him some stuff to help him sober up, I don't usually keep food for myself so I don't have anything" He stepped outside the building, walking onto the sidewalk with Desmond at his side. "Aw … dude i know you wanna talk about what he was wearing though-" 

" _ It was so- Desmond- don't make me think about it man _ " Clive said, clenching his keys as he walked. "It's alright to think he's cute …" 

"He's a boy-!" 

"And? You act like you've never at least  _ kissed  _ a guy before-"

"I haven't" 

"Yea you did- remember when Alfendi had a fat crush on you- but you were all  _ oooh i'm not gayyy _ so he literally picked your skinny ass up and kissed you anyway-"

"Desmond-"

"And then you told me about it and you admitted to not hating it-"

"Dez- I-"

"And just last night! He was in the room with us- you two are at opposite ends of some girl and I look over and see what?"

"Dez!"

"Both of you making out over her- a perfect triangle. Dovey you're at least bisexual- come on ..." 

"... I'm not bisexual-"

"Mmhmm- what's so wrong with liking guys? Or is it just that you don't wanna date anyone who isn't afraid of you." 

"Well I don't date any girls either-! And they're not afraid of me- but either way I'm always single-"

"Doesn't that suck?? Come on~ get a boyfriend - at least try it- Alfendi really likes you dude-"

"He- … does?" Clive quietly asked, and Desmond snorted, "You do like him!"

"I don't. I'm just asking .." 

"Clive it's alright if you do- what are you so scared of?"

"Nothing- i'm just- not gay …" 

" … So you gave me a diamond encrusted watch just as a gift?"

"I'm  _ rich  _ dude - and you're my best friend-"

"This thing could pay my tuition Clive-"

"Yea- you're welcome-" 

" So when you were putting it on my wrist- and you were making that face- that was just nothing huh?"

"What face?"

Desmond huffed, "your,  _ this is mine  _ face- "

" … I don't know what you're talking about" Clive mumbled. It was quiet … Desmond smiled, "you're so cute- you're gonna make some 7 foot tall, bodybuilder really happy one day-"

" _ Please never say that again _ " 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Clive stared at the aisle where all the cold medicine was … would it be of any use to buy this stuff? Luke didn't have a cold … but he could always catch one, and Clive would be unprepared when he did. He might as well pick some up … 

He sighed, just grabbing whatever seemed right. Pain killers, acid relief, Alfendi-

A-

Clive looked up, " _ oh-  _ hey …" he said, wishing he wouldn't have talked about him earlier. The tall redhead barely smiled, hands shoved in the lab coat he was constantly wearing over his uniform. He tilted his head, and Clive tried not to look directly at him, "you good?" Alfendi asked with a light chuckle, "don't tell me you're upset now are you?" 

"No …" Clive continued picking up medicine, not even looking at the bottles as he grabbed them. Alfendi was wearing a green turtleneck today, and some brown pants, cool, he switched it up, that's nice. 

"What are you staring at?" Clive asked, and the other just smiled, "You said you'd call me .." 

"I never said that-" 

"Yeah you did … " 

Clive cringed, "well I lied." He said, looking around to find Desmond. The glasses wearing doof was standing at the counter, talking to the cashier, letting her feel his hair … Sometimes students were allowed to work part time in the stores, in exchange for community hours. Clive sighed, literally dropping everything in his arms as a hand came to the side of his face. Alfendi forced him to look up, to look him in the eyes, but as soon as they made contact Clive averted his gaze to just about anywhere that wasn't the other's face, turning red as his heart beat against his ribcage. " I-" 

"Is your tooth missing? "

"... Let- me go …"

Alfendi gripped Clive's jaw, forcing his mouth open, "honestly, always getting into trouble-" 

Clive winced, this was the main reason he didn't fucking like Alfendi. He was always treated like some troubled little boy, and he hated it. Clive clenched his teeth, and gripped Alfendi's wrists, "Let-  _ go of me _ -" he said. 

"Not until you tell me what happened." 

"It's not your business!!" Clive shoved him away. He held his cheek, his mouth was still really sore from having a tooth ripped out. The ones around it were a little sore and achy too, he needed to see a doctor but he refused ... 

Alfendi paused … before smiling to himself, "doesn't it hurt? You should stop by sometime. I can make it feel better" 

"... It- just- leave me alone, alright? It's a no." Clive said, leaning down to pick up all the medicine he dropped. He honestly couldn't breathe right now, his every movement felt like it was being watched as he held all the pills in his hands. Alfendi sighed, " well if you change your mind- you have my number~" the wavy haired, probably pothead said as he walked out of the room. Clive watched him leave … he exhaled, walking over to the counter and dumping everything on it. "I wanna go home-" he said, glaring down at the floor. 

Desmond wrapped his arm around his waist, "hey - you alright buddy?" He asked, gently rubbing Clive's side. " Mm …" Clive didn't say anything. Even as Desmond squeezed him in a hug, making him feel slightly better … he remained quiet, not even looking at the cashier as she finished ringing their stuff up. He sighed, and reached into his pocket to get his card … but it wasn't there. He reached into his other pocket, but still couldn't find it … "that-  **_Asshole!_ ** " 

"Clive-" Desmond said, pulling him away from the counter. "Hah - uhh excuse us-" he said, walking outside with his arm over Clive's shoulder. "He- fucking- took my card!" Clive said. 

"Oh- haha he got you!"

" **It's not funny** " 

"... Right- i'm sorry- Look, I'll get it back, and you won't have to interact with him at all see? I'll tell him to fuck off ..." Desmond said, rubbing his back. Clive shoved his hands in his pockets, " how am i gonna pay for this stuff? Pukey needs something to help get over his hangover .." Clive said. "It'd be fine if he was just fucking with me but i have other things to deal with- that … dick- always messing with me- I don't care if he likes me or not i hate him."

"Wow- i've never seen you get this angry about him before …" Desmond pushed his glasses up. "I guess he went too far this time. Let me handle it, alright? I'll pay for the stuff and you can pay me back later." 

"Thanks … " Clive, for once, hugged Dez back, unable to see the absolutely ghostly expression on his face. He looked like he had ascended into the next dimension and seen the goddess of eternal life and was offered to be rubbed down by her giant goddess hands.

"W-what are friends for- hh right?" He said, never wanting to let go 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Clive sat at the edge of his bed and watched Luke eat an omelette, a bottle of tea at his side as he laid there, wrapped up in bed. He'd put ketchup all over it, getting a little in Clive's bed, but Clive didn't really mind all that much if he had to be honest ... He was looking at him in the reflection of the tv as he played his game, unable to focus on his aim as he watched Luke. He looked like he was feeling a little better, hair pulled up out of his face in a little ponytail on top of his head. "Fuck-" Clive mumbled, getting killed for about the 5th time. His K.D.R was gonna suffer if he didn't start paying attention. 

"You suck at that game" Luke spoke up, and Clive tensed, "I- Can you do any better? No. Didn't think so." He retorted, huffily playing his game. "Why don't you play something else if it makes you so angry?" Luke asked, having watched Clive do this every day for the past three days. 

"Because getting angry is the fun part-" 

"... You like being angry?"

"There's a difference when it's for a game- especially competitive games." Clive said. Though, he didn't even really wanna be playing this right now. There was a new game he'd gotten, but he wanted to wait until Luke went to sleep before he played it … it wasn't an adult game or anything, kindof the opposite really. It was such an embarrassing thing to buy, an anime based rhythm game, but he didn't wanna even think about it right now. 

right now, he was enjoying whatever game this is, he'd been sitting in the lobby listening to someone call him trash for a minute now … maybe he should play something else. 

"Can I play?" Luke asked, and Clive … hummed, "what makes you think i'd let you touch my controller?" 

"... I'm sitting in your bed- you don't really care about me touching your stuff do you?" Luke said. Clive scoffed, "you're there because you're sick-" 

"But i have a bed- what's the difference between your bed and my bed?" 

" … My bed is closer- i'd rather not have to walk all the way around just to give you your medicine- now be quiet and go to sleep" Clive said, happy he was able to quickly think of a response. Luke crossed his arms, "hmf" luke laid down, taking a bite out of his omelette as he let his head rest against the cologne scented pillow. Luke's mind just couldn't help but think Clive smelled like "adult" and he didn't know why he kept thinking about it. Especially since Clive wasn't any less of a kid than he was … the only real difference was perspective. 

The world must look pretty small from so high up … 

"Clive?" Luke said, getting a sigh in response, 

"What now?" 

" … I didn't know you could sing." Luke said, sipping his tea as he watched Clive's ears turn red. " What are you going on about? I smoke too much for that" Clive said. Luke picked up the last little piece of omelette, and bit into it, finally finishing his breakfast … he didn't wanna tell Clive he was watching him sing, but he figured maybe Clive would be nicer to him if they had something in common. Or if he gave him a genuine compliment … 

"I .. thought it sounded really pretty- you're really good at it." Luke said. The room went cold, nothing but the sound of gunshots as Clive stared at the screen. " … do you actually think that or do you want something from me …?" he mumbled. Luke smiled, "I mean it. I don't want anything- I just wanted to say you sounded nice …" Luke fully laid down against the pillows, "I'll go to sleep now-"

"You better .."

Clive stared down at his controller, getting killed again … it felt different hearing someone compliment his singing without asking for something right after. It felt good … 

Just as he had that thought, there was a knock at the door. "Doveyy~" 

Clive sighed, and got up, only having to take a few steps to open the door. Desmond grinned, holding a bag full of medicine, "I hope you don't mind, i got a few things for myself too" he said, "and … well- I couldn't get your card back- he said you gotta go meet him and get it yourself" Desmond said. 

Clive … sighed, "It's fine- i'll cancel it and order a new one … so how much was it?" 

"Um- maybe- thirty five pounds?" He said, "for the medicine. The other stuff came up to about fifty" 

"Why'd you get so many snacks?" Clive asked, taking the bag of medicine from his hands. He threw it onto the bed, and Luke whined, "my head hurts" he mumbled, curled up like a tired snake on the bed. "Well it's the weekend so i wanted to stay over- to get away from  _ you know who _ " 

"Henry?"

"Yeah- he's such … an adorable wreck- i just wanna kiss him and then shove his head in the toilet-" 

" Well why don't you?"

" Cause i'd rather just make him buy my peace instead- he's kind of a pushover…" Desmond said, stepping inside. "how's my little paper weight feeling?" He asked, letting Clive shut the door as he made his way over. He sat down on the bed next to Luke, who was curled up with his bottle of tea. " i'm okay." He said, clearly not wanting to talk right now. "aw- you look so cute-"

"Your voice makes my head hurt" 

"Sorry lukey~" Desmond whispered, moving away as he laid down on Clive's bed, head leaning over the foot so he could watch the tv. " So can I stay or what?" Desmond asked, getting a nod from Clive, " I don't care man … " 

"Worried about Alfendi?"

"He really gets on my nerves-" Clive said, rubbing his jaw. He passed his controller over to Desmond, "I hate the way he always has to grab me- even when i tell him  _ hey- keep touching me and i'm gonna cut those hands off _ . He just- hh" Clive sighed, sitting down on his bed. " I'm  _ actually _ going to  **cut** him- he thinks i won't do it but i'll fucking do it-" 

"Don't do that … Look-" Desmond said, finally leaving the lobby. "I get it- you don't like guys and he's freaking you out because of it. I'm not saying you're afraid of him, but I get that he makes you uncomfortable … i think you should tell him that, cause when i talk to him .. all he talks about is you. You gotta let him know,  _ hey- i'm not into guys like that-  _ or just, say that you're not into him … either one is fine-"

"I know but I just … "

"Scared you'll say yes or something?"

"..."

"...  _ Clive- _ just say you're bi already" Desmond chuckled. 

Luke was only listening with half an ear, hearing Clive just deny … deny … deny … it was kind of ironic. The fact that Clive had a bully … Luke smiled, good. He needs it. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Clive stood outside a door, in a complex that wasn't his own. This one had tan, white-ish carpet that was really dirty by now, probably from everyone walking on it to come to this exact door. Clive leaned up against the wall, rubbing his cheek. It sort of ached still, He didn't expect to get punched that hard honestly. Especially not by Anthony, but maybe looks can be deceiving … he swore if he ever saw him again, he'd kill him, and he fucking meant that.

The door opened, and Clive didn't even bother to look, seeing a few red strands of hair dangle down in his peripheral. He held his hand out, "Give it back" he said, pausing as he awaited a response. He didn't have to wait long, suddenly being hand in hand with the lab coated guy, who chuckled and mumbled something about him being cute. "Why don't you come in?"

"No-"

"Come on~ I just wanna talk" 

"..." Clive snatched his hand away, fine, he'd just take it then. He walked inside, seeing a room that was filled mostly with old lab equipment, and a few baking materials, as Alfendi was known to make edibles. He looked around the striped room, striped wallpaper, striped bed, checker tiled floors and stripper posters on the walls. "Where is it?" He asked, watching as Alfendi sat down on his bed, and held up a red plastic rectangle. "Right here- but before i give it to you- I wanna know- what happened to your face?" 

"Got in a fight- give it back-"

"With who?"

"Anthony"

"Why?"

"I fucked his girlfriend-"

"And what made you wanna do that?"

"I didn't! I didn't  _ want  _ to! I didn't go up to her fully expecting it to happen - we were talking and it just- she asked me if i wanted to fool around and i mean- of course i did! We just kept going- i didn't  _ want  _ to fuck up their relationship- or cuck him or whatever. I'm so sick of people thinking that …" 

Alfendi sighed, "but you don't feel bad about it …" he slipped the card into his pocket. Clive crossed his arms, "there's nothing to feel bad about. She finally got away from that creep- i'm happy for her … fuck Anthony" Clive said, and Alfendi shook his head, "no, You don't know the full story- you only know her side. There could have been more things involved than you thought- you should really apologize to him." 

"He should apologize to me for punching me in the face" 

"You took away the only thing he cared about-"

"He obviously didn't if she didn't come back! She  _ hated  _ him- i'm not gonna be sorry for him just because he's upset about the fact that his girlfriend cheated on him."

"With you."

"Yeah! With me! But who cares? The whole school wants to fuck me!  _ Especially _ you- so don't act like i did anything wrong just by being attractive-" Clive hissed, honestly out of breath at this point. He sighed, trying to catch the air he'd just lost … This is the most outwardly expressive he's ever been towards anyone besides Luke. This guy …

" … are you finished?" Alfendi said, watching Clive nod. 

" … he wasn't as bad as she was saying. He just didn't feel like he was smart enough to have conversations about things she was interested in, so he talked about simple stuff, and he tried to show his love in other ways … yeah he was a little beauty obsessed- but he didn't deserve … that" Alfendi said. 

"Is that why you wont leave me alone? Did he ask you to talk to me or something?" 

"... Well- long story short. He said,  _ do to him what he did to her _ … so" he got up, pulling off his coat. Clive just looked at him, "you're the one without common sense if you think i'm gonna just let you do something to me" 

"You will if you want your card back-" 

Clive scoffed, backing up as Alfendi got closer, "I can just get another-" 

"But then how are you going to pay for the upcoming placement tests? You wanna get into a good college don't you? Unless you want to risk sending them the transcript for this year …" 

Clive was pushed up against the dresser now, hands at either side of him. Alfendi leaned in, holding his wrists down under the weight of his hands, "You might be stronger now- but working out over the summer doesn't mean anything if you quit once school starts …" He said, mouth all too close to Clive's ear. 

" Get- back." Clive said, face completely stoic as he didn't even bother to struggle. "What are you going to do if I don't? You want your card then you have to earn it~" 

"You really think I can't get out of this? Let me go before you hurt yourself. I'm not in the mood" Clive said, looking him directly in the face this time. 

"I know you can … so why aren't you?" 

"..."

Alfendi leaned down, head resting in Clive's neck, " if you want- we can continue … Anthony gets what he wants- and you get to find out whether you like it or not …" he lifted his hands from Clive's wrists, watching the angry, dyed haired boy drop his arms, fists clenched in rage… 

  
  


He took the card out of his pocket, and set it on the dresser surface. "I know it's hard for you to say it out loud, so here's my offer. You can take your card and leave- or you can stay and get it later. If you don't move or say anything then I'll assume you're staying …" 

Clive looked down at the floor … he reached up, and took his card from off the dresser surface … "I'm not … gay" he said, standing still … 

He didn't say anything else though, just nervously stood there, face pulled into a permanent death stare. 

" … It's just an experiment" Alfendi grinned, " you won't regret it." 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


… 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Clive pushed open the door to his room, being greeted by Luke playing a racing game with Desmond, who'd seemingly brought his second controller. "What took you so long?" Desmond asked, looking at Clive's hand as it gently pressed the card to his dresser. The way it moved, a slow glide through the air, not raising more than it needed to. The way it quietly put the cars down, unlike Clive's usual toss of everything. Clive shut the door, "Nothing" he said, but Desmond already knew, just by the way he sighed out the word, something had gone wrong. 

  
  


"... So- I'm bi i guess …" 


	7. Lunch money

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clive gives Luke his lunch money back.

Luke tried not to scream as he was thrown into the air, being stared at by all the cheerleaders below. They seemed amazed by his light weight, but Luke was pretty sure they were all just … strong. The gym was completely empty, aside from Clive, Desmond, and Alfendi on the bleachers' middle row. Clive sat in the middle of them … they seemed to have some sort of rivalry going on right now. Each of them awfully close to Clive...

"Thats scary! Why would anyone do this?" Luke said, hanging onto Dahlia's side, refusing to let go. Flora put her hands on her hips, clearly worried, but also wanting to get back to practice, "It's for the show- we're small so we're easy to throw around and it makes our routine exciting. I promise they'll always catch you- i've never been dropped once!" She said, standing there in a white, sparkly crop top that had only one long sleeve, leaving her other shoulder completely exposed, and some short shorts that were slit at the thighs. That was apparently the school's cheer uniform, you could make a choice between the shorts and a skirt, which Luke didn't mind since that meant he wouldn't be exposing himself. "B-but it's- so scary-" He whimpered, getting a sympathetic sigh around the room. Dahlia pried him off, "I promise there's nothing to be afraid of- you need to be able to trust us." she said, holding him up like a puppy. Luke whined, "But what if i get hurt? The floor in here is hard-" he said. 

"... We're standing on mats, Luke- if you did fall it'd be like falling on a pillow, or your bed." She pulled him close, " if you don't wanna be thrown I get it- but do you mind being lifted up?" She lifted Luke, and a few other girls joined, holding him up in the air by the palms of their hands. "I … i guess not-" he said, not feeling too bad about this. 

"Try to stand up! I promise you won't fall!" Flora coaxed him, smiling as Luke did just that. He wobbled a little, pushing off of their hands as he carefully stood up, staying crouched to keep his balance. 

"Yeaa! Like that!" Flora said, excitedly watching Luke slowly regain his balance … 

Desmond sighed, "Lukey is afraid of heights~" he said, melting onto Clive's shoulder, " do you think … he'll puke if you throw him up high enough?" He looked up at Clive, who just looked at him, not saying a single word … he gently ran his hand through Desmond's hair, "we can try later …" he said, having his other hand squeezed by Alfendi. "You two are really close huh?" The wavy haired, wanna be scientist asked, suddenly having his arm gripped by Desmond, who posessively responded with, "He's my best friend." 

"Best friends? That's so cute-" 

"Yeah. Thanks." 

Clive was quiet, tensing a little as Alfendi slid closer. He stared down at his own lap, able to sense the other two having a dick measuring contest for who could hold onto him tighter. "Why are you here again?" Desmond finally hissed, and Alfendi grinned, " I was worried about him, you don't seem to be able to keep him out of trouble so I have to do your job for you." 

"Dude ... Get-  _ off _ me-" Clive mumbled, shoving Alfendi away by his face as he hooked his arm around Desmond, "I don't need you to look after me, you're not my fucking dad." He growled, making Desmond go absolutely apeshit on the inside. "Yea- he can take care of himself! And I don't appreciate you patronizing him." He huffed. Clive was sort of happy Desmond was as outwardly affectionate with him as he was, willing to defend just about everything he did. It made him feel like he didn't have to put up with other shit, because Dez cared enough to not let anything happen … 

" How can you expect him to take care of himself when you're always at his side? Don't baby him, he's nearly an adult." 

"I'm not babying him! He's my friend- and i'm  _ always  _ gonna be at his side." 

"That's smothering- you're suffocating him, let him breathe."

"You don't know that! You don't know anything about him!" 

"I've probably learned more about him in one night then you'll ever know in your entire life." 

"Oh, what cause you guys fucked? That doesn't mean anything!" 

Clive cringed, "We didn't- do anything like that …" He said, " he just- there was a lot of talking …" Clive scratched his neck, and Alfendi grinned, "So much talking- a little crying too~ he's cute when he's vulnerable." 

" So you talked a little. So what? We talk every day!" 

"Not about the stuff we talked about. He told me things that he's never told anyone before-" 

"Blasphemy-" 

"It's true" 

"..." Clive sat there, feeling Alfendi intertwine their fingers again, " either way- i think it's time you gave him some space-" he said, a small smile on his face as Desmond stared back at him … 

Clive squeezed Alfendi's hand, "Listen …" he said, continuing to squeeze, harder and harder until Alfendi was doubled over, trying to pull his hand away. "I've already told Desmond everything I told you. You aren't special to me, you aren't anything or anyone worth my attention. You're lucky Dahlia told me not to make a scene, and I wouldn't wanna interrupt Luke's practice by kicking your teeth in, and dragging you across the gym floor." Clive said. He seemed to get quickly annoyed by the sight of Alfendi, and at first Desmond thought it was just another random act of rage … and then he remembered that Alfendi just insulted him.

"H-haha- you've been working out haven't you?" 

"Let's make one thing incredibly clear-" Clive spoke over him, "I don't like you, I'm not your boyfriend, and i hate it when people talk shit about Dez, especially behind his back, so apologize, and then go home-" He said. Alfendi hissed out an "i'm sorry-" before Clive let his hand go. 

"Why do I need to go home though?" He asked, moving away as Clive pulled a knife out of his pocket, "Because, If i have to see you again i might-" 

"Woah! Okay Dovey~ give me that- hand it here, good" Desmond said, taking the blade from Clive's hand. "Just- you might wanna go- you're really making him uncomfortable-" he nervously chuckled, putting the knife in his own pocket. Clive just glared at Luke, watching him finally agree to be thrown into the air. They were doing little tosses, helping him get used to it … he looked so scared.

"Fine- but don't expect me not to interact with him when you're not around." 

"Bitch if you don't -  _ Leave before i let him cut you!- _ " Desmond said, seriously just wondering why some people insisted on making things worse. Alfendi finally got up and left, and Desmond pulled away from Clive a little bit … "man- I hate that guy too now" he said, laying down on the bleachers, putting his head in Clive's lap. "I came here to watch pretty girls do backflips, not have some asshole tell me he knows my best friend more than I do. I'm not even in the mood anymore- my boner is just deflated, like those long skinny baloons before you blow them up … Just shrivelled-" 

Clive covered his mouth to keep from laughing, and Desmond grinned, "there it is~" He said, and Clive sighed, leaning back, "ugh- I'm so lucky to have met you. I don't think anyone else could possibly hold me back as much as you do" 

"It's what I'm here for- I kept asking them to put us in a dorm together, but they said no because they thought we were dating- even though I kept telling them you're not gay, they said they don't put couples together, and that it's against school policy anyways." 

Clive groaned, "We don't even- do we get  _ that  _ close to each other? I get that it's weird when people see us holding hands but everyone that knows me knows I'm not that kind of person … well-  _ wasn't  _ that kind of person-" he said. Desmond just shrugged, "people don't get it. They don't get that kind of affection so they just jump to conclusions, I don't even care at this point." Desmond said, "Even if I was sucking your dick, they have no reason to care ..." he said, totally not smelling Clive or anything. 

"Yea … " 

" … i know you wanna talk about their outfits-"

" _ It's so cute- even Flora looks cute, and she's so sweet too. _ When she came in, she said hi in the sweetest voice and gave me a hug and just _ -"  _ Clive whined, " your weirdness is rubbing off on me- I just never wanted to let go-" 

"Beautiful creatures- perfect little gifts- each and every one of them." Desmond said, unable to see through his glasses at this point. 

Clive nodded, and Desmond lifted his head, sitting up, "You know, Flora asked me out- she did the most adorable thing." Desmond said, looking like he was about to cry, "she went and got a bunch of flowers man- and she twisted them up into a ring- and gave it to me. I think about it every single day …  _ and I had to say no because Dahlia would rip my dick off- _ i wanted to  **cry** " Desmond said, and Clive could understand that. Especially since Desmond clearly didn't really get any attention from anyone else … 

Well anyone else besides Flora of course, who was running over with a Dizzy Luke at her side, "did you see that Dez? Did you? He went up so high!" 

"I did! You're all so amazing-" he said, happily smiling as Flora got up onto the bleachers, sitting next to him. Luke weakly crawled up next to Clive, who kept him at a distance as he sat down, pushing him away, "Don't touch me- you're all sweaty and you look like you're gonna vomit again-" he said. Luke groaned, and laid down on the bleachers, "My stomach feels like it's growing hair on the inside-"

"That's disgusting-" 

" I'm hungry-" Luke said, sitting up. "You took my lunch money for the week so what am I supposed to eat? Or did you plan something ..." He asked, getting a void stare … " … of course I planned something-" Clive said, knowing full well he hadn't planned shit. What had he even been using Luke's money for? He racked his brain trying to remember. Morning after pills, condoms, weed- yeah- it was all coming back to him now … ugh, at this rate he'd be kicked out in no time. He really needed to go withdraw some money and stop taking it from Luke's lunch funds. 

" I made your lunch since you don't have anything else-" Desmond said, grabbing his lunch box from the bleachers above him. He opened a little container, "I don't know what you like to eat, but i know you like cake so i got you some bread thing from the store- it's full of strawberry cream~" He said, handing a chunky looking piece of stuffed bread over to Luke. 

Luke just stared at it … "I want Clive to give me something- it's his fault I have no money." Luke said. Clive just took the pasty from Desmond's hand, gripping Luke's face, "just eat it" he mumbled, sticking it in his mouth. "Always complaining about everything- he didn't  _ have  _ to get you anything. The least you could do is eat it." 

Luke gagged, biting Clive's fingers as he chokerd on the bread. Clive pulled his hands away, watching Luke catch the bun in his hands. 

He wiped his hands off on his pants, and Desmond sighed, "he's even cute when he chokes-" he said, being pulled at by Flora, "do you like Luke?" She asked, eyes sparkling with a subtly sad shine. Desmond looked at her … "not as much as I like you-!" He happily exclaimed, pulling her into a hug. 

Clive looked at them, and then at Luke, who'd slid extremely far away from him …

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Luke didn't bother to change clothes after practice, which turned out to be a huge mistake. He felt like he was being watched, standing outside behind a place that sold sandwiches while Clive smoked. They stood next to a dumpster that reeked of coffee and onions. Apparently he came back here specifically just to smoke, with the permission of the staff. It was the only place where nobody would bother him … but standing out here all alone half naked with Clive was really nerve wracking for Luke, especially since it was getting dark. 

"Um … uh- Clive?" He asked, getting a hum in response … "it's cold-" Luke said. 

"Too bad- why didn't you change clothes?"

"I was … tired." 

"Well that's what you get. Now freeze." 

Luke scoffed, "You're so mean!"

"How? I just bought you lunch!"

"But only after you took all my money! It's the least you could do-" 

"You act like your parents aren't gonna send you more."

"They will! But you're just going to take it from me! Plus you promised you'd pay me back and you still haven't!" 

"... Fine. give me a second." Clive said, tossing his cigarette on the ground as he walked back into the building, going through the back door … Luke huffed, biting down on his sandwich in pure reluctant hunger. It was good, the food here was great, but there was something about the fact that Clive bought it that made him wanna spit it out … 

Clive came back outside about three minutes later, throwing a wad of cash at Luke's face. "Take it-! it's at least fifty times what I took so there's your lunch fund  _ and  _ an apology- if you need anything else then cry like you always do-" 

There was a pause … "I don't want your stupid money!" Luke said, having dropped his sandwich. He picked up the wad of rubber banded cash, "why is it so hard for you to understand that I have feelings too!?" He clenched his fists, waving the wad of notes around, "You're always messing with me- you make everything so difficult and then whine to Dez all night about how nobody understands you! What is there to be understood?! You just suck!!" Luke said. "And you made me drop my food- I don't want your money- i just wanted something to eat - is that so difficult?!! Did I do something to you? I don't get it! …" Luke sucked up his sorrow, taking the amount that Clive had taken from him out of the stack. He threw the rest of it on the ground, and picked up his backpack. "I wanna go home" he said, gripping his bag … he was holding in his tears, tired of having things thrown at him.

" … Luke i-"

"I don't wanna hear it- you've never said anything nice in your life so don't bother trying ... if you all of a sudden wanna be nice then give me your jacket. Like i said, I'm cold …" He looked away, just standing there for a second before he watched Clive take his blazer off, and put it around his shoulders. He didn't expect to be picked up though. His first response was to flail and try to hit Clive, but he stopped as a hand ran across his back. He guessed that was Clive's new cheat code to his body, and his way of apologizing. Luke huffed, suddenly feeling tired, resting his head on his shoulder as Clive took his bag out of his hands ... "You didn't have to throw it at me …" Luke said, finally allowing his tears to shed.

" I won't … do it again … i didn't mean to i just-" Clive said, feeling Luke lazily slap him on his back. "Meanie- if you didn't mean to then you wouldn't have done it!" 

"... Right-" he said, picking up the stack of discarded cash, sticking it in the jacket pocket. He'd probably force Luke to Take it later. He really didn't bring it out so he could throw his wealth in Luke's face, he really just figured he owed him for all that he'd put him through, but when he opened his mouth the story just … changed. 

Oh well, maybe he should take his own advice and shut up. If anyone was to come here and see Luke, a wad of cash in his hands, half naked with Clive's jacket on his shoulders, mayo in the corners of his mouth, they'd get the wrong idea. It was getting dark too, and they wouldn't have a normal reason to be out behind a coffee shop if anyone asked. 

"I'm still hungry …" Luke said, staring down at the corpse of his meal. "I'll pick something up." Clive said, "what do you want?" 

"I don't know … anything-" 

"How about some fast food?"

"Sure … thanks-" 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Clive watched Luke sleep. Yet another night of being left awake with his thoughts. He'd spent the first two hours of the night trying to justify his terrible actions, but after that he just gave up and admitted how shitty he'd been, and why he might have been that way … he wasn't quite so good at self reflection just yet, he kept trying to find excuses for why it wasn't his fault, and he knew that it partially wasnt. Nobody is any way just … on purpose. Still, he had little self control, a result of how he'd been "raised" … 

But even if it made him act like an ass, he knew he didn't wanna be that way, and that was enough of a sign that he could be better if he tried … 

But hearing Luke snore made him wanna plug his nose up with frozen hotdogs. He sat up, pushing his blankets aside as he stood. Another night of doing this shit again, he was surprised Luke didn't automatically wake up as soon as he was lifted from his bed. Clive bent down, carefully picking him up. He listened to Luke's little disturbed sigh, he was much too tired by now to he easily pulled from his rest. Clive sat down on his own bed, and laid back, sliding his hands up Luke's silky pajamas. He felt his sides, soft skin brushing across his hands as he … tried not to smell his hair. He let out a breath, watching Luke make a face as he blew onto his ear … 

Clive did it again, and Luke went red, rolling over away from him … Clive smiled, listening to the hum of the air vent. Cute … Luke is so cute, so tiny, so sensitive. He didn't care that he thought about it anymore, pulling Luke closer to him. Maybe it was just because he was so tired, and he knew he couldn't go to sleep without Luke, so he might as well accept all the thoughts he was having … or not

Maybe it'd be a better idea to keep his distance … but he was still gonna keep rubbing his stomach, that's for sure. At least until he could finally get some sleep. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Clive leaned back in his chair, "so Dez kept trying to burn me with it, cause he's a psycho- and he ended up lighting the blanket on fire-" he said, grinning as Desmond denied his re-telling of the events, "That's not what happened! He was smoking in bed and I told him to put it out because he could set off the smoke alarm- but he didn't listen- and so i tried to take it from him but the bloke had the nerve to pull it away-" he said. They were both sitting at their back table with Dahlia, who'd decided to stay there instead of boredly sitting in the front. She was still pressing to get her questions answered, apparently she had all year to write this paper, but she needed the thesis by the end of october. 

"Seems like you smoke a lot, but somehow you don't let people see you do it- are you ashamed?" 

"... I- I don't know? Quit asking me questions every five minutes-" Clive said, "In fact, why don't I ask you something? I heard you went home with Desmond." 

"And?"

" … you two should date-" 

"No, I'd rather run through my own cheer squad before i let him put his  _ sticky _ hands anywhere near me ever again" 

"That's hot- can i come too?" Desmond asked, watching her sigh, putting her feet up on the table, "Sure, all they ever talk about is you and Clive anyway, every god damn day it's "ooh he's so mysterious- he's so cute- he's this, he's that-" i'd do anything to get them talking about  _ anything _ else- it's absolutely rediculous …" She crossed her arms, "you're popular with the guys too, you know. 

" … " 

"Are you resisting the urge to say you're not gay?" Dez asked, and Clive sighed, " no- i'm over it by now … but you did help me realize something important." He said, scratching at his face, "You were sort of right when you said I didn't like Alfendi because he isn't scared of me- but it's more like … I don't want to be the one- you know- what I'm trying to say right?" 

"... Oh- you're not a bottom? That's a lie" Dahlia said. Clive sighed, "Is this going to be another thing i'll end up realizing years later? I don't want him trying to put his dick in me, but I wouldn't mind putting my dick in him, that's all im trying to say" 

"I get it" she said, picking at her nails, "I'm just saying that you're lying, and the real reason you don't like him is because you're afraid to be emasculated by a bigger man …" 

"..." Clive squinted at the table … 

"Do you know what Emaculated means?"

"Uh …" 

She sighed, and Dez chuckled, "he's good at math- not much else though." He said, leaning against the table. "You expect me to believe that?" Dahlia asked, and Clive shrugged, "Give me an equation, I'm good at science too, and word problems- I can solve anything within three minutes-" 

"Three minutes huh? Alright …" Dahlia said, taking a piece of paper from her bag. She scribbled out an equation that was … incredibly long. It had fractions, decimals, cosines and parenthesis. Though, Clive immediately recognized she was setting up a variable problem. As she wrote it out, he ran through the numbers in his head, and as soon as she put the pencil down, he answered, "There's no answer to this, it's impossible to solve because of the 3X. If it was just x then the answer could be graphed Something like this-" he took the pencil, and sketched the graph, "As an inequality of course- but the three throws the whole thing off …" 

"I was just making up something that looked hard- did you actually solve that or are you just pretending?" 

"Put it in your calculator and see for yourself" Clive said, watching Dahlia take out her phone. She typed something … " how- did you- do that in your head?" 

"How? Practice- and yes I did it in my head- it's my only practical skill …" he sighed, "I can solve any equation- and yet somehow … I don't know what emasculated means- it's frustrating-" he said. 

"It means you feel like less of a man- like someone is taking your role from you or something. It's like being dethroned" 

"... Oh … that- actually- i think that's it …" Clive said, " wow … somehow i feel slimy now" he mumbled, getting a sympathetic back rub from Desmond, "you shouldn't- i feel like everyone has a fear of being … 'dethroned'" he said, nuzzling Clive. "I promise you're not slimy~" he said, listening to the familiar sigh that usually meant, "yeah i guess you're right .."

  
  


The classroom door opened, and the three looked up … Luke was being shuffled into the classroom by his blonde haired, red dressed teacher. " _ It's the cute teacher from the other building Cliiiveee!! _ " Desmond shook him. Clive just looked at Luke, who glared up at him … 

"Do you think he got in trouble?" Clive asked, glaring back at Luke until he stopped giving him that look. "That seems unlikely, our Lukey is the goodest of good boys!" Desmond proudly grinned. "I guess-" Clive said, still wondering why Luke was in here. The teacher spoke, 

"Sorry about this- they didn't make the announcement but from now on, those of you with younger roommates will be taking your classes together. It's been a hassle for those of you who have to walk long distances to get to class every day, and so we decided to try something new-" 

Clive … Felt his soul leave his body. Life just keeps getting worse doesn't it? 

"Dear god i'm going to explode-" He said, slammimg his face against the desk. Luke walked over, looking around the classroom as he held onto his bag. Eyes were glued on him as he quietly pulled up a chair, sitting next to Clive … 

" Hey- now we're classmates-" Dahlia said, patting Luke's head. "At least for this class period, right?" She said, and Luke hesitantly nodded … "C-clive?"

" **What** "

"Never- nevermind …" Luke said, sitting quietly in his chair. 

Sure, they'd be fine for this class period, but what were they gonna do every other hour of the day? Not to mention gym, was Clive going to be forced to go to cheer practice every single day? It was. Either that or make the long trip between the two gyms to walk Luke to their next class. This was gonna be pure hell … 

And yet, some small part of Clive's brain was telling him that somehow, this situation works greatly in his favor. He hadn't figured out how yet, but when he did he'd be sure to abuse the loophole. 


	8. Tuesday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke and Clive's first tuesday at school together.

Clive scribbled down information in his notebook, gripping the life from his pencil as he tried not to get so angry. This whole situation was stupid, what was the point? How were they even going to teach them all at once? It seemed impossible, unless they made the school day longer, and if they did that then Clive would surely lose his mind … Luke sat next to him, the morning light shining on his face just right to make him glow, his hands were obediently placed in his lap, and he kept still, not even so much as thinking about moving a single inch … Clive said if he so much as breathed the wrong way then he'd kill him. He was always saying that, but he seemed serious this time. By the way he'd already cracked his pencil, it was clear to see that he wasn't in a playful mood today. Luke wondered why Clive had such horrible anger issues, it was really … unsettling sometimes to be near him when he looked like he was going to bite your head off and throw it in the dumpster.

They were in their third period class, next up was gym, and Dahlia said that he'd have to wait before he got to go to cheer practice again, which meant he'd be spending his gym period with Clive. The girls needed to sort their schedule out, and a couple people would be joining them due to the situation. Luke looked down, noticing Clive's other hand was busy on his phone, typing at lightning speed, as silent as the p in pterodactyl. He was lightning fast, texting someone or something … Luke didn't know what they were talking about, but it didn't seem nearly as important as school work. Luke spoke up, whispering to him on reflex, "y-you're not supposed to have your phone out in class …" he warned, not wanting to draw attention to them.

"And?" Clive said, eyes still glued on his device as he refused to pay Luke any piece of mind at all. 

"You're gonna get in trouble …"

"I know what I'm doing, Pukey. mind your business." Clive said, turning his phone away from Luke as he sent a picture of something. Luke wondered what it was, and why he was hiding it … 

"In fact, you might as well get on your phone. Since you have nothing else to do." 

"No way- I'm gonna get it taken away-" 

"No you won't- he can't see under the desk, just pretend to be asleep and you can play games or something, even put in your earbuds …"

Luke looked down at his bag, staring at his phone, which rested snugly in its case, on top of everything. "... You won't tell on me?" He asked, shooting Clive a nervous, but willing look. Clive shook his head, "unlike you I can keep my mouth shut-" he said, grinning at the response he'd gotten to the picture he'd sent. "Don't follow me after gym, I'm skipping that class." He said, and Luke … didn't even bother asking why, probably to go smoke his dirty little cancer sticks. Luke quietly pulled his phone from his bag, and rested his head on Clive's desk, doing as he was told and pretending to be asleep. The first thing he did was go to youtube, not really having anyone to text right now. He turned his media volume all the way down, just watching the videos play without sound … 

Clive sat his phone down, sighing in frustration as he tried to write down everything the teacher had on the board. He was squinting … "can- you see?" Luke whispered, and Clive blushed, "I need glasses- but they make me look stupid so I don't- wear them …" he said. Luke tilted his head, "what? How are you supposed to see the board?" 

"I don't know it doesn't even matter, I suck at this stuff anyways so even if I could see, it wouldn't make any difference." Clive put his chin in his hand, and Luke huffed, "That's no attitude to have about school- you can do anything you put your mind to!" 

"Well my mind doesn't work so I give up …" Clive set his pencil down, and Luke picked it up, "I'm not going to accept that-" he mumbled, taking Clive's notes for him. Clive just watched …  _ wait- that's actually genius.  _ He could just let Luke take his notes and slack off in class the whole time. It wouldn't be any problem if he couldn't answer a question, cause he was never paying attention. 

Clive looked down at the page … Luke had such cute handwriting. Round curvy letters, I's dotted with little hearts, yet it wasn't cursive, or hard to read. It was unlike the moon runes Clive had scratched into his paper. His L's were coily and his O's had a little loopty loop at the top. Luke's hand moved quick, eyes flickering between the screen and Clive's notebook …  _ God fucking damn it no! His handwriting can't be cute too! It can't be. He has to have at least one thing that sucks about him! At least one … _ Clive mentally yelled.  _ Something aside from puking when nervous, there must be something that's a deal breaker about him. But what could it be? Sure he's short, but he's young so it's only normal. He's a boy that crossdresses … but that just makes him more appealing. Ugh- he has soft hair, a fat hamster face, pretty brown eyes, he's a good student, he wants to make friends with everyone he meets, tries to get along even when he's surrounded by assholes, doesn't wanna be seen naked, he's shy … doesn't wanna be seen naked … _ wait- why not? 

Clive looked away from him, he had always chalked it up to Luke just not wanting anyone to see his body, which was normal for a thirteen year old boy. He was going through changes. What isn't normal is being willing to piss on someone to keep from being seen … but then again, Clive probably scared him … but eyat if he had some sort of messed up deformity? Like a third nipple, or a finger coming out of his belly button. 

He probably didn't … but if he did it'd certainly make calling him cute feel less weird. Clive would have something non cute to counter him, and he could finally have his fucking mind to himself. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Clive watched Luke from across the gym. Their school's massive fund meant that their gym was an actual gym, equipped with weights, cycles, treadmills, and an area where a girl named Celeste was teaching Yoga. She was sitting with her legs crossed, on the floor, along with Luke right in front of her, Blocking the view up her shorts that Clive normally had the luxury of looking at. He tried not to most days … but today he was just … giving a quick glance. She leaned onto her side, letting one of her legs come out as she leaned over the other one, stretching … beautiful.

She stood, and bent down, the palms of her hands touching the ground without her having to bend her knees at all. Her bright red hair had faded into a soft pink as the dye wore off, flowing down her shoulders. She took in a deep breath, and Clive exhaled with her … 

_ I should stop staring~ I'm gonna trip and fall and skin my entire face off hahahaha _

Clive hummed to himself, running in place on a treadmill. He wasn't really one of the school's big athletes, but … he ran track. He  _ would  _ have played football if violence wasn't so, in his nature. He wasn't afraid of hurting someone, he was more so afraid of, "Those guys are gonna push me the wrong way and i'm gonna get angry, so let's try something with a little less physical contact …" though, track was a little boring. Sure, he was pretty fast, but he rarely came in first for anything unless his coach told him they needed to win. Only then did he bother with actually trying … but he wasn't even doing track this year. He quit that too, after he realized that he'd been fucked over by his smoking habits, and had a little bit of a cough now. His lungs ached when he tried to sprint, and bla bla bla, long story short, he was ashamed of himself so he continued to workout here, promising that he'd get better. 

Still … he mostly just didn't wanna leave, he wanted to see her every day … well, maybe he could see her a little better if Luke wasn't blocking his view. Laying on his side in those tiny shorts, legs raised all the way up into the air, sweat glazing his sweet little-

_ God- fucking damn it! No!  _

Clive growled as his coach came over, and he tried to shake his thoughts from his mind. Day by day it was just getting worse! How was he gonna he expected to spend every day with that walking contradiction!? His coach looked him over, turning up the speed on the treadmill, "I want you to join the team again, I know you can do better and I'm not giving up on you. From now on it's three miles a day- so go!" 

"Ughjhh!!" Clive groaned, trying not to get all sweaty as he complied "I'm not joining the stupid! - track team! hahh-" he breathed, getting a disapproving head shake from his coach. "I'm not giving you a choice, son." 

" _ Don't _ call me son!" 

"Clive." 

Clive panted, easily keeping up with the fast pace of the machine. His Lungs were starting to hurt, and his heart felt like it was on fire. He stopped, stepping off of the machine as he panted, trying not to cough. His coach started to yell, but he wasn't listening, not one bit as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. He turned, looking over to see Luke giving him a worried look … 

_ Don't look at me like that- _

He got back up on the treadmill, taking deeper breaths like he was supposed to, complying with his coach. He glared down at the speed setting,  _ I can do this. This is easy. I'm fine. _ He was starting to get a little light headed, but that was fine, he wasn't gonna give up! Ever! Cause giving up is for bitches!

"Fuck it-!" Clive said, stepping off again. "Why on earth would you turn it up that high?? How am i- hhahhh- supposed to go that fast??" He wheezed, and his coach grinned, giving him a pat on his sweaty, sweaty back. "You were going faster than most people ever could, give it a second thought will ya? You won't regret joining again this year …" the coach walked off, leaving Clive on the gym floor. He could hear his loud voice, commanding everyone to give it their all. 

"Ugh-" he got up, leaning against the wall … he really wished Desmond were here. Dez would tell him that it's all going to be alright, and that he didn't have anything to worry about. Dez would tell him to only join if he really felt like that was the right option for him, and not because some chunky, beefed up history teacher, told him he was a quick boy. Dez would probably already have water ready for him too, he was always prepared, always there, Clive sighed, before feeling a hand gently tugging at the end of his shorts. He turned, seeing Luke standing there with a box of apple juice in his hand. "I brought … you one-" the little brown haired anomaly said. His poor little hand was shaking, was he really that afraid of him now? Clive stared down at Luke … he felt a little guilty, "Thanks- i'm alright though-" 

"Oh just take it already! If you don't drink it then you'll be dehydrated!" 

"It's not that big of a deal- plus I can buy my own drinks …" Clive looked away …

"But … I bought it for you though, I felt bad about yelling at you and so I-"

" _ Fucking fine- _ " Clive mumbled, taking the little juice box from him. If his only option was to feel bad then he'd at least pick the route where he didn't hurt Luke's feelings like he always did. He took off the little plastic straw from the side, and stabbed it into the hole, watching Luke do the same … 

"Do- you wanna come stretch with us?" 

"Ha?"

"The girls were wondering if you wanted to come stretch with them. They said they don't mind if you're all sweaty and stuff-" 

"... Luke- they- only want me there so they can stare at me … Either that or stick their hands down my shorts, and I'm not really in the mood for all of that right now." 

" Wha? But I thought you liked being around them?" 

" I do- they're nice to me and it's alright I guess but … how would you feel if a group of men were all crowded around you, trying to touch you, flirting with you-"

"That sounds scary-!" 

"It is- even if they were smaller than you were, you'd be a little freaked out right?" Clive said, sitting down as he leaned against the wall. "I don't mind it sometimes, but I'd rather not … do it right now … " Clive said. Luke hummed, "I didn't know you were actually afraid of women-" 

"I- n-no I'm- that's not what I meant-" 

"It's okay! I promise They're all really nice and-" 

Clive stared out into space, wondering if it was going to be a recurring issue for people to assume he's afraid of women. He honestly … couldn't even fathom the idea of being  _ afraid  _ of the opposite sex. Sure he was nervous around them, but 

… seriously, was that not normal or something? He was under the impression that everyone was a little nervous around other people, he couldn't possibly be the weird one here right? 

"Alright fine -" Clive mumbled, walking over to the group of girls, and like, two guys who were sort of … cute, in Clive's opinion. But nobody else needed to know that. "Yay! He said he'd join!" Luke happily cheered, running back over and grabbing a mat from the pile. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


… 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Luke sat on the toilet in the bathroom, having almost had an anxiety attack in class after his phone went off during a lecture. He asked to be excused after being yelled at for a little too long, and now he was here, rubbing his hand across the back of his stuffed cat, trying not to feel too embarrassed about it. 

His phone buzzed in his pocket, and he perked up a little … someone was texting him? He pulled his phone out, and turned it on, swiping through the password screen before going to check his messages. He squinted, it was something from Clive, an image … he tapped his screen, and opened it, freezing up completely at what he saw. At first he thought it was some sort of strange … sausage, or- someone's veiny arm, but there was hair at it's base, and arms aren't shaped like that … 

Luke blushed, and immediately started typing, "WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU WHY WOULD YOU SEND ME THAT PLEASE UNSEND IT YOU PERVERT I'M TELLING" 

But clive started to type 

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Whenever you're ready." 

Luke stared at his screen … he deleted his previous message, hugging his cat close as he exited his messaging app altogether. What … what did he mean ' _ whenever you're ready' _ ???

Luke went back to it, staring at the appendage being flaunted to him … did- Clive- wanna do  _ that  _ with him? No way! 

Luke huffed … he couldn't stop looking at it though. There was something weirdly interesting about the way it looked, it just made Luke want to … touch it? He didn't like Clive or anything like that! His thingy just looked interesting, and he wanted to poke it. He knew that was a weird thought to have, but if he was gonna be forced to look at it then he might as well be allowed to think about whatever he wanted … 

he looked down, his body felt strange, he didn't wanna look at this stupid picture anymore … 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Luke stared at Clive, who was coming down the hallway. He felt more scared than ever before, not at all being looked at as the other approached. It was late in the afternoon, the sun shining a beautiful sunset through the open windows, setting up the perfect scenario. They were here all by themselves, nobody would see or care or comment if they were to do anything here. No cameras to watch them, no, actually, this was the perfect place to come and assault someone! Luke was hugging his bag, waiting until Clive got right up next to him before he said, " I don't know what's wrong with you but i'm not ever going to do any of those things with you!!" At the top of his lungs. Clive flinched, having not even been paying attention. He stood there, watching Luke hesitantly shuffle back away from him ...

" … w .. what are you talking about?" He asked, hoping there was some sort of rational solution to this, and he wasn't being yelled at just because he's a  _ uwaaah! P-pervert! _

"You heard me! Pervert! I'm not ready and I'll never be ready!" 

"Luke, what are yelling for? I literally haven't said anything to you since gym-" 

"You sent me that picture!"

Clive … looked down at his phone, quickly scrolling through his messages … he stopped on Luke's contact, fearing the worst as he cautiously opened it up, getting an eye full of his own dick. He stood there for a moment … god- fuck- oops. 

"That- wasn't for you-" he cringed extremely hard, unsending the picture and the horrible text that came afterwards. "Don't worry about that, it was an accident … " Clive tensed, walking right past Luke. He looked like he was holding his breath or something … was this what he was like when he was embarrassed? Holding his head down, face completely red, shoved into his phone. He looked … sort of looked like a turtle. "It's alright … you should pay attention more! You gave me a heart attack."

"Look, can we pretend this didn't happen?" 

" … hmf- sure- but if you do it again then I'm telling on you-" 

"  _ I wont _ " Clive said, looking like he'd seen a ghost. Luke didn't add anything else, walking behind him as they made their way out of the building …

"... So- who was that picture for?" 

"Your mom"

"Don't you talk about my mom like that!"

"Fine- it was for your dad then-" 

Luke blushed, "Why are you always so gross? It was a simple question!" 

"Why do you wanna know who's looking at my dick? Why is that important information for you to have? Are you jealous because you can't see it anymore?"

"Of course not!"

"Then shut up about it." 

Luke huffed, mumbling things to himself as he heard quick footsteps running up behind them. " _ Clllliiiiiii _ iiiiiiiVVVVEEEE!" Desmond screeched, completely throwing himself onto Clive. 

Luke watched as they both fell over onto the ground, " I haven't seen you all day!! This new schedule is horrible!! I hate it!!!" He whined, hugging up onto Clive, who blankly stared out into space, having had his last brain cell knocked out of his mind. He put his arms around Dez, "ouh- you're kinda heavy man …" he said, rubbing his back. 

"It's the weight of my sorrow! I don't ever get to see you now- we only have mornings and afternoons! They could at least give us gym classes together! The world is trying to tear us apart~ Clive~!!" 

" Calm down- it's not like that … we can still have lunch together and stuff- you wanna start meeting up in that little park area?" He asked, and Desmond nodded, " I missed you too …" Clive said with a sigh, unintentionally giving Desmond the validation and motivation to stick to him. 

"... I don't get it- how come you two aren't boyfriends?" Luke asked, and Clive … hummed, "Um- it's complicated-" 

"We're swingers!"

"Not- not that- it's not that we're dating or something- we're just friends- but we … are friends with benefits? No- that's not right-" 

"I'm his emotional support buddy and he's my emotional relief buddy!" 

Luke stared at them … "so you two kiss and stuff?" 

"No! It's not like that- i'm telling you it's complicated …" Clive sighed, " I help him release stuff and he helps me keep it in- we aren't a couple- we're just … sort of-" 

"Codependent!" 

Clive nodded, and Luke tilted his head, "oh- so you're like a dog-" Luke pointed to Clive, " and he's like a dog whisperer-" he pointed to Desmond, who grinned, "i'm more like a dog whisperer who really loves dogs- but can't ever pet any other dog but this one, so in return I taught him a bunch of cute little tricks, like how to not go around threatening to cut people~ he's still learning that one." Desmond said, and Clive huffed, "i'm not a dog!" He said, pinning Dez underneath him, holding his arm behind his back. 

The two suddenly seemed to be fighting, arguing about who was and wasn't a dog. Luke just watched them … he smiled, "You would make a cute couple …" he said, watching them stop, in the middle of choking each other … 

"It wouldn't work out- we're better off just being friends …" Desmond sighed, "but even so~ I'll always keep your selfies in my spank bank~" 

" … " Clive stared up at the sky, "I'm gonna ignore that you even said that." He said, getting up off the ground. "It's getting late- and I really need a shower- so let's go home Clive said, dusting himself off. 

"I'm coming too! If I have to spend one more night in a row with Henry I'm gonna lose my mind!" Desmond growled. 

… A sleepover? 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


… 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Luke was awake, staring at the ceiling, completely silent as Dez took up his spot on Clive's bed … this was weird, he didn't like this feeling, why couldn't he sleep all of a sudden? … he usually hated when Clive pulled him out of his own bed to come sleep with him, but seeing Clive wrapped up with Dez, face shoved into his chest like a baby, it made him upset. He wanted … to be the one Clive was asleep with. He felt replaced, and cold on his own. He missed Clive's body heat … he missed Clive. 

He sat up, and shoved his blankets aside. He was now standing up, staring silently at The pair … he took a shaky step forward, and two more, crossing the three foot barrier from his bed to Clive's. Desmond was asleep in only his briefs, but Luke couldn't care less. He got up onto the bed, it didn't even creak as he moved himself on top of Clive, completely shoving himself in between the two … there- that was better … 

He huffed, thinking to himself that this is how it should be, and that nobody else deserved to take his spot on Clive's bed. Desmond didn't even live here, so … wait- no, he shouldn't be getting mad about this. He didn't care  _ that _ much, he was just … used to it. Yeah, he was used to it … Luke rolled over onto his side, wrapping his leg around Clive's waist, getting as close as humanly possible. It was dark, but with what little light there was shining from the window, Luke could see Clive's face … he wasn't snoring like he usually was … were his eyes open? 

"I'm not asleep …" Clive mumbled, and Luke turned beet red, "i- …" he was silent, feeling a hand come down on his head, gently patting him. " … I can't sleep without you, I think …" He mumbled, "Which sucks" he yawned. 

" … i- I think- I can't either? How did this happen?" Luke said. 

"How am I supposed to know? All I know is that it's weird … and I hate it …"

"I- h-hate it too-" Luke said, feeling Clive's arm drape itself over his body. "Just go to sleep …" he looked away, and Luke went a little red … 

"Clive? What if we get stuck like this and we can't sleep unless we're together?"

"I'll kill myself-"

"W-wha? But- What am I supposed to do?"

"Suffer" 

"... you're so mean …" he went quiet, figuring that conversation would be pointless. He shut his eyes, and let the drowsy urge to rest his eyes overcome his senses … 


	9. A favor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clive needs to stop thinking about Luke, so he helps someone out in exchange for a favor.

Clive tried not to think about the fact that Luke was so close to him, sitting on his lap, taking his notes for him … he smelled good. He smelled like babies rolled in a field cotton and lavender. He smelled like the vanilla coffee creamer Clive let him drink this morning, after Luke said he wanted to try coffee. It was mostly just cream and milk, but Luke's little smile at how good he thought it tasted was adorable. Luke was wearing a gray sweater vest over a light blue shirt, a little bowtie at his neck, cute little shorts, smooth legs since he'd recently shaved. Clive was … 

_ Nooo! Fuck!  _

This was about the third time  _ this morning  _ that he got caught up in his mind. He hated this! He hated having to spend so much time around Pukey- it was only Wednesday, the second fucking week of school, and he couldn't rid his mind of the thought that, " _ maybe, i should put my dick in my ROOMMATE  _ " As if that was a  _ good idea! _ It wasn't! Even if Luke was some tall voluptuous woman who looked just enough like Clive's mom to be comforting but not enough to make him feel like a creep for being attracted to women who look like his mom, he still wouldn't do it because he'd have to wake up and see that face every single day! 

"Clive- are you okay?"

"Fuck off Pukey-" He snapped, and Luke tensed, going back to writing … " _ damn it- I didn't mean that … _ " Clive thought to himself. Always managing to somehow say the complete opposite of what he was thinking. This was hell, what was he supposed to do? There really wasn't anything that he  _ could  _ do besides somehow manage to get rid of these thoughts, but how was he supposed to do that? … maybe Desmond could help. He moved Luke a little, "stay there-" he whispered, using him as a shield to block the view from his phone. 

He opened up his contacts, scrolling to the one that was just a clown emoji. 

"Dez" 

"Ya?" 

The response was almost immediate … but what was he supposed to say now? He'd never … had to get over someone before. 

"I keep thinking about something and I can't make it stop."

"About what?"

"Someone" 

"Oooh a crush!"

"Idk"

" Well do you want to be with them or do you just wanna stop thinking about it?"

"Stop thinking about it .."

"Get rejected i guess?" 

Clive hummed … 

"What if i've already been rejected?" 

"Then idk, fuck em so you lose interest?" 

"Dez …" 

"You could try getting into someone else, like idk … me? Just a thought" 

Clive stared down at his phone … date Dez … 

"Sure" 

There was a long pause, Clive felt his heart drop at the sudden realization that he'd just sent something he … probably shouldn't have, what was he doing? Desmond wasn't even texting back at this point, he was just … quiet … all of a sudden a little bubble popped up, 

"Lol anyway- i think you should find someone else and actually try to make it work-" 

… Clive hummed, Desmond thought he was joking … 

"I know Alfendi is an asshole but I think you should give him another shot" 

"Nope" 

"O well " 

" I'm tempted to go for Anthony for some reason. He's such a little bitch, you know?" 

"... If you can actually do it then you're god." 

"Watch me-" 

Clive was caught a little off guard by the bell ringing, he sighed, letting Luke get up and move off of him while he collected his notes. "We have to go to my class next-!" Luke reminded Clive, who nodded, "yea yea, where is it anyway?" He said. His books were shoved into his bag, and hastily zipped up so he could follow Luke out of the classroom. They were the last ones out, they usually were … "it's on the top floor! I have an art class and the teacher is really nice!" Luke said, making his way down the hallway. People divided themselves to step out of Clive's way as he walked. He was used to it by now, figuring that they had no real reason to be afraid, and everyone that moved was just sort of … stupid. That's what he told himself at least, to soften the reality that he'd earned such a reputation for being violent that nobody wanted to fuck with him … at all, ever. 

He noticed a few more whispers than usual, and figured … they must be talking about Pukey. "Clive do you know how to make Origami?" Luke asked, turning his head towards Clive. He looked, spotting a piece of lint on his pants, which he casually brushed off like an annoying bug. The hallway went sort of quiet … "No - i don't, why? Is that what you're doing?" Clive asked, pressing the button to the elevator. Luke nodded, "I wanted to make a- um … i forgot what it was called- oh darn.." he said, before a leg came out in front of him, sweeping his feet. "Oops~" someone said, and in a split second, Clive looked up to see … another little boy that looked sort of like Luke. Clive grabbed Luke by the back of his shirt to keep him from falling, and stood him up. 

He glared at the little shithead, watching the boy look up at him, and go silent … 

"W-what are you? The devil?! Stop looking at me right now u-unless you want some too!" He said. Clive … tried not to laugh. He tried not to smile at all. This poor kid, he looked like a version of Luke without all the sparkles. A defective powerpuff girl or something. They left out the 'everything nice' and replaced it with buck teeth. "Pfft-" 

"A-are you laughing at me? Nobody laughs at Duke!" 

"Ha! Your name is Duke? Oh my fucking god-" Clive laughed, and the elevator finally opened. He sighed, "ahhh … piss off kid." He said, following Luke into the lift. He continued to chuckle, Luke stuck his tongue out, "Butt face!" He said, not getting a response at all as Duke seemed too afraid to speak up all of a sudden. The doors closed, and Luke looked up at Clive, "I super don't like him! He's always going around telling people he's the better version of me, and stealing my snacks, and cheating off of my tests-" 

"Heh- you have classes with that freak?" 

Luke nodded, "He's so mean, he's only upset because I said I didn't want to date him. And then he freaked out and started telling everyone that i kiss boys- well I do and I don't care what anyone says cause it's not their business!!" Luke clenched his bag … "and for a while everyone made fun of me… but I didn't have anyone to talk to- so thanks for finally getting him back for me …" Luke looked down, and Clive was quiet … 

What a bomb to have dropped so early in the morning. 

"Ah …" Clive looked at Luke, "If you have problems like that then you can come to me- and I'll kick the shit out of anyone messing with you, cause for one, of they hurt you I'll be expelled, and two … you're nice to everyone so you don't deserve it" Clive said, knowing better than anyone how sweet Luke was. And how sweet he smelled, and how soft and warm and 

_ NO - FUCK- _

He sighed, think of something else! Dead puppies and grandma! Dead puppies and grandma! 

"Thanks Clive …" Luke had a little smile on his face, "does … does that mean we can finally be friends?" He asked, and the elevator stopped … Clive huffed, "Don't get comfortable, I'm only helping you cause I  _ have  _ to, and Desmond isn't around so I have nothing to help me keep calm. Beating up some snot nosed brat is just good enough." Clive said, following Luke out to their classroom. "Oh … okay- I won't give up though, we'll be friends one day, you'll see …" Luke said. He was always so determined to make friends, Clive just couldn't help but think it was adorable, absolutely infuriating … 

Fwiends~

Clive sighed, shoving his hands in his pocket as they funneled into a room. As soon as he took a breath, he scrunched his face up at the smell of glue and paint. It was everywhere, clouding the smell of anything else within a five mile radius. He looked down at Luke, who went over to the round table and took a seat. Flora and Lili were there … Flora, Clive sighed, and thought for a second about his whole Luke situation. The table was really low to the floor, so he didn't bother with the chairs, sitting down on the floor as he let his head rest against the surface of the table. "Oh my- are you going to be in Class with us from now on?" Flora asked, and Clive nodded … it smelled like babies in here. She put her hand on his head, "It's okay- the girls in here are small and the teacher is a boy so there's nothing to be afraid of" 

" … " Clive squinted down at the table. How comforting. "I'm not afraid of girls, Flora-" he said, not wanting anyone to think that at all. 

"Hmm? But you're afraid of my big sis …" 

"Yea- but- that's different, I'm pretty sure she wants to dissect me or something." 

"She just wants to know how you think! Also, congratulations on finding out you like boys!" She cheered. 

" _ Please don't say that - so loud- _ " Clive cringed, thankful that these kids had the attention span of goldfish and nobody turned to look at them with their disapproving eyes … if they even cared. Which they were probably too busy huffing glue to care … 

"If you like boys does that mean you like girls that look like boys?" Lili asked, and Clive looked up … she was so chubby, it was so cute. " Why? You wanna date?" 

"... um-" 

Clive wondered if he could break the table with his face, if he slammed his head into it hard enough. "It's not gonna happen-"

"O-oh … okay-"

The teacher finally entered the room …  _ Henry? _ Clive looked up at him,  _ Oh wow, it was henry _ . "The teacher is sick so I'm taking his place for today. He didn't have anything planned since we're all still figuring out schedules, but he's giving out extra credit to those who color him something by the end of class." Henry said. He scanned the room, seeing Clive, sitting there squinting at him … 

"You- are you supposed to be here?" He asked, always asking questions, always so suspicious. "He's with me! He's my roommate!" Luke said, "can we make anything?" He immediately asked afterwards. Henry nodded, "yes, you can make anything you want, just write your name on it and finish it before class ends …" Henry said, not taking his eyes off of Clive, who was … taking out his own sheet of paper? 

Henry continued to watch him, not letting his suspicions go for a second. He'd heard all the rumors, but he wasn't going to suddenly punish him for nothing … he needed a reason. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Henry stared at the back table, having been watching them all class period. Clive … wasn't nearly as threatening as he'd thought. He'd just been doodling pictures of ninjas and swords and having paper ball fights with everyone else at his table. He'd just been sitting there … coloring the whole time. He hadn't even been all that loud, though he was extremely talkative, such a limited vocabulary, he … Henry scratched his head, sitting at the teacher's desk. Clive didn't seem any different from these kids right now, the only difference was that he was older than them, smoked cigarettes and was a massive slut. Other than that, and his capacity for violence … and math, he wasn't anything to worry about. In fact, he blended right in …

The bell rang, and Henry watched as Clive shoved his paper in his bag, and actually bothered to  _ pick up  _ all the paper he'd thrown around. Luke stayed there as he threw it away, and they left their drawings on the table like everyone else … Henry stepped out from behind his desk, and walked over to the table where they were sitting at. He looked at all the drawings, seeing flowers … animals, Luke had drawn a big heart with a bunch of different shades of blue, but Clive had sneakily drawn ninjas on everything.

they were poking their heads out from behind the drawings …  _ it- was sort of cute _ . Henry collected the papers, stacking them up as he went around the classroom. He belonged to the group of people that were extremely afraid of Clive, but seeing this … what had he been afraid of? An overgrown two year old? A joke … or maybe a potential friend. Anyone would beat Desmond, constantly flirting with him, inappropriately touching him. Henry had just about had enough, Surely Clive was the perfect person to contrast him. 

"Fuck- my bad-!" Came a voice, Henry tensed up, going stiff like a statue as Clive quickly ran over to the table, looking around under it. He pulled out a pencil, "Cliive we're gonna be late!" Luke whined, coming out from behind the corner, and Clive sighed, "it's my favorite pencil- shut up!" 

Henry quickly grabbed him by his sleeve, "Hey- wait- …" He felt the aura shift. Clive turned his head, and the school seemed to break down into an Arena. Thousands of people all screaming and cheering, only them in the middle as they prepared for battle, a battle to the death … 

"Um??" Clive asked, pulling his arm from Henry's grip. 

"... I- i was thinking you could help me out? There- there's this person-"

" Ha- get fucked- I don't care" Clive said, starting to leave again before Henry called out, "I'll give you anything! I'm rich- you know-"

"And? So am I …"

"... W-well- there must be  _ something  _ I can do-?" Henry asked, and Clive looked at him … he squinted, " you're sort of cute- And I'm going through a thing right now- how about you be my boyfriend for a while?" He said, tilting his head, "Not too tall- or bulky- you've got facial hair but I bet you're shaved everywhere else-" 

Henry … lit up like a tomato, "Excuse me? This is- extortion!" 

"... Yea?"

"Is it so hard to do something nice for someone? You don't seem all that- terrible- and I can assure you I'm not worth your time-" 

"You don't get to decide what's worth my time- so make up your mind- i'm not gonna  _ force  _ You but if there's nothing in it for me then I don't care-" 

"You- Lecherous … f-fine-" 

"Greaaaat- you should text me later with whatever it is you want- I don't have time right now" Clive said, walking behind Henry. He took a sharpie out from the cup full of markers, and opened it, grabbing the poor guy by his face, writing his number across his cheek, "Don't wipe this off until you text me, alright buddy~?" He said, playfully slapping his other cheek. He tossed the sharpie back in the cup, and quickly exited with Luke, who was anxiously running in place, "We gotta goo!" Luke whined, and Clive nodded, picking him up, "It'll be fine- calm down-" 

Henry just stood there …  _ oh god. _ "I'm- such a pushover-" he slammed the paper down on the table behind him, and Shook his head … 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Clive watched Luke with the rest of the cheerleaders, feeling sort of proud at the fact that Luke was finally comfortable enough to be thrown up without being terrified. He sighed, wondering if they'd all throw him like that. He didn't know what he was thinking, or what that thought was supposed to be, or if it made sense … 

"Wow- that's kind of a dick move- poor henry" Desmond said, reading the texts that they'd sent so far. Henry had tried to call the whole thing off, which Clive didn't really care either way. Henry was upset that Clive seriously wasn't going to help him unless he could get something out of it, "eh- he'll be fine- this is mostly just an experiment anyways- it probably won't even last a few days." Clive said. 

"I'm just surprised you really got him to agree …" 

"Well if he wants help then~" Clive shrugged. Desmond scrolled through the messages, Henry had figured, if he was gonna be getting fucked then he might as well ask for everything he could possibly want. He'd asked for more than just help with Dez, but help with Calculus, a place to sit at Lunch, protection from bullies … "what a twink." Desmond sighed, "his little - chin hair- he's so cute …" 

"Hey- have you seen him nude? You live together so-" 

"I like to flush the toilet when he's in the shower- the guy uses hair remover literally everywhere else but on his face. He says body hair is unhygienic … he's gonna hate you and your bush man-" 

"I knew it-" Clive mumbled, "i'm not shaving for him …" he leaned back, "but leave him alone- I wouldn't want him to think I'm just trying to get with him." Clive said. Desmond hummed, "but aren't you?" 

"Eh- equivalent exchange -" 

"Oh I see~ you just don't wanna feel bad about it." Desmond smiled, " my poor Lovey Dovey~ hope you have fun."

"Yea- me too …" 

Luke stood up on Dahlia's hands, she seemed more than ecstatic, "Alright ~ good! Now we can get started on some  _ Actual  _ practice!" She said, setting Luke down on his feet. "We've already been sent a dance, which I already learned two weeks ago- so let me show you all where you need to stand-" Dahlia said, "you two stay here-" she put her hands on Luke and Flora's heads, making them stay where they were. "Are they going to throw me around like that when we're outside?" Luke asked, and flora nodded, "They're going to make sure you can do it beforehand though- and don't worry- they'll always catch you-" She said. 

Luke nodded, watching carefully as Dahlia demonstrated the dance they were supposed to do. "both sides need to mirror each other, so everyone on the other side, do  _ exactly  _ what you see." She said, and Luke watched her … 

Flora hummed, " Hey- you wanna dance with me?" She asked, and Luke blushed, "I can't dance or anything- I'm just here cause she asked me to be …"

"Well that doesn't mean you can't try! Just do what I do-" she said, and Luke watched her … 

Desmond leaned over on the bleachers, "I can't believe it's only the second week, it feels like so much has happened already …" He closed his eyes, taking his glasses off. " I can't wait until the weekend, are you aware we already have a test coming up? How lame is that …" 

"Very … what test?" Clive asked, and Desmond shrugged, " History, a quiz-" he mumbled. Clive looked down at the gym floor, watching Luke dance with Flora … they were so cute. Luke's stomach looked so soft, exposed under the fluorescent lights inside the gym. He looked like he was made of cotton, Clive could almost see underneath his shirt as he jumped, copying whatever Flora did. The little end of his shirt went up~ and down~ and up~ 

Clive sighed … "Does Luke even know he's flashing like- a centimeter of his nipples-" Clive said, and Desmond Looked … "that's hot~ Flora's bra looks cute today- black looks nice on her …" 

"What about Dahlia?" Clive asked, and Desmond looked … " she told me if I talked about her she'd break my glasses and shove them down my throat- but honestly she's just great in general …  _ But alas~  _ I'm kinda a twisted creep and I'm much more infatuated with her little sister~! Those tiny little hips make my brain shut off- plus … she's just nicer to me in general, but honestly it's a different flavor all together, there's no comparing the two …" 

"... you know- I think Flora is dating that little blonde girl …" Clive said. Desmond shrugged, "the little chubby one? She's so cute- green eyes are my weakness-" 

"Yea- i think they're keeping it a secret or something, but I was in their class today and it … was obvious." 

"Or~ maybe they're like us? And they can't be together no matter how much they really wanna!" 

" … right-" Clive said, staring out into space … 

_ No matter how much they really wanna … _ .

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Clive stood in the school's bathroom, leaning against the counter near the sink. Henry was holding a bottle of lube, making Clive swear not to tell anyone. "Seriously- Do not say a  _ word  _ about this-" he said. Clive was barely even listening, "yea yea I won't tell anyone - stop worrying so much …" he said. Henry set the bottle down, "be … gentle- alright? I-I don't usually do this sort of thing-" He said. Clive reached down, sliding his hands under Henry's shirt, "I'm gonna be real- you might wanna look at it before you decide to continue-" Clive said. 

Henry looked down … " _ What the hell is that? _ "

"My dick-?" 

" _ It- there's no way _ !" Henry reached down, unzipping Clive's pants. He was sort of hard, barely, staring down as a surprisingly soft hand brushed across his length. He'd been through this so many times that it felt like … nothing. Henry sighed, "I'm so serious- Please don't tell anyone-" 

"I don't even want people to know- I'm not gonna say anything- you know you don't  _ have  _ to do it right?" 

"Yes I know! But- ugh-" He opened his mouth, and Clive grinned, feeling the damp cavern close it's warmth around his tip. He had a little guilt lingering around for a moment, "  _ i'm really making him suck my dick so he won't get pushed around … _ " But all of that faded when Henry showed his capabilities, going down further than most people could. Clive hissed, gripping the edge of the counter as he entered Henry's throat. Tight, warm, textured, fuck … he bit his lips, eyes completely closed as Henry moved on his own, bobbing his head like a … "Dude do you do porn or something?" Clive asked, this felt unreal, he let his hand rest on Henry's head, he felt sort of like a tyrant for this … but Henry seemed strangely into it. He had both his hands at Clive's sides, breathing through his nose as he kept his pace steady. His face was completely red, and he had tears in the corners of his eyes, no doubt from trying to shove Clive down his throat. 

His eyes flew open as Clive tangled both hands in his hair, shoving his hips forward, "What were you talking about- first time? Liar-!" Clive said, chuckling in amazement as Henry handled it. He looked like he couldn't breathe, throat closing around Clive before twitching to swallow the cum flowing down into it. "Drink it- I don't feel like cleaning up …" Clive said, head tilted back in bliss as he shot it all into Henry's face … 

He let go of him, a wet sound erupting from his mouth as Clive popped out, listening to him cough violently. He waited for Henry to collect himself, sitting there on the floor, on his knees, hard himself … "did that turn you on~? Cute …" Clive said, and Henry wiped his mouth, "Don't flatter yourself- it always happens …" Henry grit his teeth, and got up, "so what now- do i just-?"

"Well- come here-" Clive said, doing what he'd usually do after a blowjob, return the favor. Though, he wasn't sure if he wanted to Suck Henry's dick … but he'd still make up for it. He guided him over to the counter, switching positions with him. Clive picked up the bottle of whatever the hell hendy's brought, and squeezed some into his hand. He reached down past henry's waistband, feeling arms hesitantly come around his shoulder as he gripped what felt like a dick, but was the length of a worn out pencil. Clive guessed it was average, it wasn't necessarily  _ small _ . "Clive- it-haa-" Henry shuddered as he was stroked, so clearly enjoying himself. Clive grinned, and bit down on his neck, getting a much too erotic moan as Henry turned his head to the side, letting Clive suck and bite down on the skin he presented him with. Clive Leaned up a little, really starting to put his arm into it as he bit down on Henry's ear, dragging his teeth across his flesh, chuckling in his ear at the way he pushed at him. "Nhh- don't- do that!" Henry growled, and Clive bit down hard on his shoulder, no doubt leaving a mark. 

He wasn't gonna be told what to do, and he made it obvious. Henry seemed to submit, firmly gripping the back of Clive's blazer as he opened his legs a little, taking in a few deep breaths. He came, arching back against the mirror, yelling out a protestant, "Clive!" Before he was pushed up onto the counter. "This isn't nearly as weird as I thought it'd be," Clive said, yanking Henry's soiled pants down, and off, leaving him in just his shoes. Clive looked … seeing him laid there, his own cum still leaking a little from his tip, panting, flushed, sweaty. 

_ Oh shit- i  _ **_am_ ** _ gay .. _

Henry didn't look anything female, well … he moaned like one- but- his voice was different enough to where if Clive was blindfolded and he had to guess, he'd guess male. He stuck his wet finger into the puckering hole between King Henry's legs, watching him slap a hand over his mouth as he worked it inside. Henry's legs shook in anticipation, and his other hand gripped the counter for support as Clive went ahead and stuck another finger in, slowly pulling them apart, spreading Lube and cum around inside of him. 

"Does it hurt?" He asked, he didn't know why he asked, maybe it was just reflex … Henry shook his head, trying to relax his body. He was hard again already, watching Clive pick up the bottle of Lube, and pour it onto his fingers as he slowly pumped them inside. " Clive- don't tell-"

"I'm not gonna tell anyone … i'm serious- so stop asking me that and relax- if you say it again then I'm leaving." Clive mumbled, and Henry whimpered, feeling Clive start digging around for his sensitive spot. "I know you must finger yourself, where does it feel the best~?" He asked, and Henry moved his hand off of his mouth, "d-deeper- you have to- curl your fingers f-forward …" Henry asked. 

"Oh- what like this?" Clive casually said, jamming his fingers up into Henry's gland. Henry arched, "th-there!" He said, and Clive … curiously rubbed at it. "What is that? You have a bump inside of-"

"Are - you stupid?! It's a - hhghnn" Henry moaned, feeling Clive start roughly abusing the place, "Don't call me stupid-  _ Henry _ -" he mumbled, and Henry nodded, "alright- I'm sorry- you don't have to- nn- do it like that-!" He breathed, becoming embarrassed at the possibility that he would cum from this, without being touched anywhere else. 

Clive pulled his now sticky fingers out, and pressed his tip to Henry's backside, rubbing his precum all over it. "Is it even going to fit I wonder~?" He taunted, having a little too much fun as he pushed forward. 

"That- ouhh- it hurts it hurts!" Henry said. Clive sighed, "really? I figured …" he stopped moving, gently prodding at the little entryway. His tip just kissed it, drooling all over it as he stayed still, listening to Henry pant. "G-go slower, alright? I'm not a harlet..." He said, and Clive looked down at him, throbbing a little as he watched Henry just … drip. 

_ Gay _

He nodded, placing his hands on Henry's hips, gently rubbing his side as he tilted his position a little bit. He pushed, leaning over him, managing to get his tip inside with a little squishy sound from a now humiliated Henry. "Good boy …" Clive absently said, smiling at his little whimper as he started to push deeper inside. He went slow, centimeter by centimeter, brushing across that little gland. His length pressed up against it, squeezing it against Henry's other organs, suffocating it, leaving it absolutely no room to breathe, rubbing it slowly as he slid his way inside. By the time he was three fourths of the way in, Henry had suddenly came, and was aggressively Gripping Clive by his shirt as he stopped with a little slap of the skin, fully inside … 

"Henry, you're so tight …" Clive breathed, " what a fucking pervert- shut the hell up-" Henry hissed, tears rolling down his face. Clive nuzzled him, kissing his cheek, "stop crying- it's a turn off …" he mumbled, sliding both his hands under henry's shirt, feeling his body. He was a little toned honestly, probably because he played soccer, running around in those little shorts all day. Clive snickered, watching him calm down and succumb to the power that was his dick. His body was finally getting the memo, stretching for Clive as he pulled back, slowly sliding his hips forward. He hit a dead end, earning a little yelp as he did so. He repeated that, Sliding out of him, going back in just a little faster that time. He kept speeding up, watching Henry's stomach bulge with the intrusion of his appendage. "Clive …" Henry was quiet, eyes shut as he just laid there. Clive didn't reply, feeling a hand roam his shoulders as he thrusted. It … felt different, on the inside, not as smooth … but he barely even noticed. 

He could hear the sound of their halves slapping together as he moved now. Henry breathed like he was in labour, Clive figured it must hurt … but he was throbbing. Clive could feel it, and there was no mistaking the miniscule noises seeping through every other thrust. Henry grabbed him by his tie, aggressively pulling him forward … kissing him. 

Clive froze up for a second, he had no idea what to do. At first his mind went straight to, " _ Fucking gross he just had my dick in his mouth! _ " To " _ Fucking gross i'm kissing a guy i'm so gay! _ " To " _... His lips are soft _ " 

He leaned in, feeling Henry tangling his fingers in his hair as he fucked him into the counter moaning into Clive's mouth, tilting his head, allowing a tongue to wrestle with his own. He used both his hands to grip Henry, pulling him forward a little as he disconnected from his mouth, leaving behind a trail of drool that dripped down both their chins before Clive started biting at him again. He let his jaw latch onto his neck, painfully squeezing as he came, feeling Henry do the same at the sensation of being bitten like that. 

They both quaked, shaking as they flowed out onto each other, panting for a second … Clive leaned up, continuing to kiss Henry, not getting anything in the form of complaints. They both just … made out, in the dirty bathroom, holding each other's faces, almost afraid to let go …

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Clive stared down at the floor of the bus, thinking about … last night … he was so tired. They couldn't fucking stop, Henry turned out to be such a … slut on the inside. Not only that, but they'd talked a little too much. Clive had spilled some information that he didn't intend, he got carried away, caught up … and now they're dating for real. It was only when he was laying there next to him, and he couldn't sleep … that he remembered why he planned on ditching Henry … 

Luke stood there, looking extremely tired as well … "Did you sleep last night?" Clive asked, and Luke shook his head, "where were you?" He said, hugging onto his leg as he tried not to fall asleep. Clive picked him up, holding him like a toddler, letting Luke rest his head on his shoulder, "I was with a friend … I didn't mean to sleep over, it just happened." Clive said, and Luke nodded. "Im … go to sleep." he mumbled. 

Clive just smiled, "go to sleep then-" he said, rubbing his back. 

"So how was it?" Desmond asked. Clive hummed, 

"... He told me not to tell anyone-" 


	10. Yucky

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clive and Luke struggle to stay awake all day long.

Clive stood by the vending machine with Dahlia, watching a can of redbull pop out of the bottom. It was so early in the morning, and it was getting colder outside day after day. He was wearing a thicker blazer, not daring to wear pants with holes in them today. He needed all the warmth he could get. The machine just glowed, his can of energy sitting at the bottom … he barely even processed that it was there, before slowly leaning down to pick it up, lazily hitting his head against the machine on his way there. "Clive …" Dahlia said, wondering how one person could possibly be so dense. Maybe Clive just had a really thick skull ...

Luke was sitting on the floor, leaning up against the machine … Thursdays usually sucked for them both, they just wanted it to be Friday already- but the fact that they actually didn't get a wink of sleep last night makes it even better. Clive sighed, "hey … wake up-" he moved his foot, gently kicking Luke awake. Luke opened his eyes, and let out an angry sigh, looking like he was about to cry before Clive handed him the can, "here- drink it …" he suggested, and Luke stared at his hand. He looked blankly at it for a moment, not saying anything at all as he reached out, little puppy paws gripping the sides of the can. He looked down at it, eyes half lidded, nearly closed. Clive wondered if he could see or not … Luke opened the can, listening to the quiet sizzle … " cwive is this soda?" He asked, and Clive shook his head, "It's an energy drink … it gives you energy-" he said. Well, it  _ used  _ to give him energy. He was sort of desensitized to it now. "Are you sure he should drink that?" Dahlia asked. She was mostly just worried about Luke getting anxious and throwing up from having a stupid amount of caffine in his system, but Clive shrugged, "it's just a can of beefed up soda right? What's the worst that could happen?" he watched Luke drink it, thinking that he looked like a baby with a bottle … Luke stopped suddenly, and looked down at the can … 

"It's yucky-" he said, squinting at it.

Clive chuckled at Luke's use of the word, he looked so much like a baby, sitting there with the can in his hands as he stared at it with a little grossed out expression. "Then- why'd you drink so much?" He asked.

"I dunno…" Luke continued to drink it. Clive put a couple more coins in the machine, pressing the button to make a monster pop out. They had blue ones in this machine, so at least he'd be killing himself with something he liked, Clive sighed, and picked it up, sitting down with Luke on the floor as he drank it. "Maybe you two should go back home and get some rest? I wouldn't encourage skipping school but you're both … out of it right now. I don't think it'll do you any good to be here …" Dahlia said, and Luke shook his head, "I want perfect attendance this year!" He pouted, before standing up. "We'll just have to take a nap sometime later today" Luke said, swaying a little as he stood there. "I guess you could take a nap during Clive's classes, and Clive could sleep during yours." She said … 

"Oh- that's actually a good idea …" Clive mumbled, "ugh- but that means i'll be awake until third and fourth period-" he whined, "and I don't even get fourth period because it's gym and you guys aren't practicing right now …" He scratched his head, and Luke looked at him, " we can take a nap in the locker rooms?" He suggested, eyes completely closed. Clive nodded, "sure … ugh- this sucks- why can't I sleep without you?" … The three went silent for just a second, before Dahlia smiled, "I believe it's because of your high anxiety. When you sleep with Luke, he comforts you, and makes you feel safe enough to where you can relax, and go unconscious. When you sleep alone or with anyone else, you're anxious and nervous the entire time, so your body won't let you rest because it thinks it needs to be alert. Got it?" Dahlia asked, and Clive … 

"That makes sense … this sucks- so what do I do?" He asked, getting up since the bell was about to ring. Dahlia shrugged, "I'd say, you need a doctor. Or just to make sure you're sleeping with Luke every night." She said. "Also- put your glasses on! Stop making Luke take your notes for you." 

Clive blushed, "No-" he said, like a stubborn two year old. "And- I'm not going to the doctor- they'll kill me …" he looked at Luke, who seemed to be waking up now … "but what if i'm stuck like this even after I graduate- ugh- and why does it have to be pukey- what's so comforting about him?" Clive groaned. Dahlia smiled, "Just look at him! Squishy around the waist- round face, big eyes. He's young, kind, caring and sweet. He's soft to the touch, and to think he's thirteen! Look how tiny he is! He's cute … you just have a thing for little boys I guess." 

" … h-huh-?"

"Though- it seems to be a thing for specifically Luke. I catch you staring all the time- a room full of fit, athletic, curvy cheerleaders with nearly nothing on, and my adorable little sister- and yet … you're staring at the boy in short shorts." 

" _ Hh _ " Clive wheezed, and Luke hummed, feeling his face heat up a little bit. He was too tired to process the implications of what Dahlia had just said, but he did understand it, "Is that why he's always pinching my tummy? Clive has a crush on me?" 

"No! She's wrong- you're just squishy and it's fun-" he said, unsure of why he did it in the first place. He was sure it just had something to do with Luke being … pinchable, "now let's go before we're late-" he immediately said afterwards, not wanting to risk talking about it.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Luke looked … like a complete crackhead. He was shaking, scratching drawings into a piece of paper on his desk as Clive boredly stared at the board. Luke was bug eyed, biting at his lip as he scribbled what looked like … an elephant. He was shaking their desk with the force of his arm, making Clive grow more concerned with every lead stroke … he looked down at Luke, who had ripped up his paper from how much he had been scribbling on it. Clive felt responsible for this, Luke looked … so out of it, he should have just gone home last night. "Hey … kid- you doing okay?" He asked, and Luke snapped his head up, " i- i'm - i dunno-" he said, "I c-can't stop shaking-" he looked down at his hands, and Clive … scratched his neck, "uhh- mm …" he stared, watching Luke just start grinding a crayon into oblivion on his paper … Clive stood, holding Luke in his arms. 

"Where are you going?" Asked the teacher getting a lazy "bathroom" in response as Clive left. They weren't going to stop him, maybe write a report later but they wouldn't do much more than that. The hallway was completely empty, leaving nothing but the sound of footsteps and Luke's irregular breathing. 

Luke clung to Clive, "my legs- f-feel weak-" he said, and Clive nodded, "You need sleep- so we're gonna go take a nap in the bathroom …" 

"W-we?" Luke innocently asked, not too keen on the idea of going to the bathroom with Clive, or anyone for that matter.

"Well- i can't leave you asleep in the bathroom by yourself ..." Clive yawned, feeling Luke wrap his arms around his shoulders. His tiny little hands, their palms resting on his back, warming him up inside. So cute … Plus Clive wanted to sleep too, they'd just be in there for maybe an hour or so, not too long, it'd be perfectly fine so long as nobody opened the stall or questioned why they came out together, but who would even see?

Clive rounded the corner, pushing open the door to the boys bathroom. Luke cringed, "it stinks in here-" he mumbled, and Clive smiled, "someone probably didn't flush-" the door to a stall creaked open as Clive pushed it with his foot. He walked in, shutting the door, sitting down on the closed toilet with Luke in his arms. "... Clive I can't sleep-" 

"Yes you can-" Clive said, rubbing his back. "Just try-" he attempted to try and help Luke sleep, starting to fall asleep himself. Within a couple more moments, Luke looked up to see Clive completely knocked out … Luke was so tired. He had energy but he was just, so dang tired. He shoved his face into Clive's chest, trying to force himself to go to sleep … nothing seemed to be working though. He sighed, for some reason getting the urge to pull Clive's shirt up. 

" _ He does it to me- maybe there's something about it …"  _

All he got was a hand full of the result of Clive doing sit-ups like a depressed maniac to avoid being called Mr. Skeletal. They weren't as "refined" as they would be, he'd gotten lazy since school started, but they were very much still there … Luke ran his hand up and down the bumps. Clive was sort of … the texture of his skin wasn't soft but it wasn't  _ not  _ soft. It was interesting. He pushed Clive's shirt all the way up, hearing him unconsciously groan … 

_ Boobs _

Luke just stared at his chest … he felt a little guilty, but that didn't stop him from poking Clive's chest, pressing his grubby little gremlin hands up against them, squishing them. They weren't very squishy, kind of stiff really … but still,  _ he had nice tits??  _ Luke didn't even know if this counted, but he didn't care, playing bongos on Clive's chest as he was unable to go to sleep. He could only think to himself that if Clive was a girl he'd have big boobs, but then he thought again, and it seemed much more plausible that Clive would stuff his bra. Luke giggled, poking at his nipples, mentally going "beep beep beep" 

His brain … was not in functional condition right now. 

he stopped, a hand absently swiping his down, away. Clive … must have a reaction built in to having his nipples touched … did it happen that often? Luke reached up, and poked him again, watching Clive halfway wake up, mumbling a "sshhtoopp" as he smacked Luke's hand … Luke just did it again, revenge for all those times Clive had pinched his stomach. 

Clive sat up a little, eyes barely open, "What - areyoudoinnggg" he groaned, pulling his shirt down. He shoved his hands under Luke's shirt, "and you- call me- a pervert" he mumbled, pressing down on the little unprotected buds with both of his thumbs as he held Luke. Luke immediately pushed at his hands "Stopp!!" He yelled, voice echoing loudly off the bathroom walls. "Then- cut it out-" Clive mumbled, letting his hands drop as he leaned back, supposedly going back to sleep …

Luke just sat there, more awake than ever … "C-cwive i really can't sleep-" 

"Cause you're too busy rubbing my nipples, you freak." 

"You're always pinching me! This is payback!" 

"Well as long as you're at it then you might as well suck my dick too-" 

"..." Luke huffed, slamming his fist down on the protruding bulge that was always in Clive's pants. 

Clive just looked … he didn't say anything, just flicked Luke's nose really hard, watching him turn away as if he'd been slapped across the face. "Meanie!" Luke whined, and Clive sighed, " what did you think I was gonna do?" He mumbled, and Luke looked away, "Cry-" 

"You want me to cry?" 

"Yes." 

Luke was quiet … he heard a sniffle, and turned around, seeing Clive shedding actual tears. He just stared for a moment … "i- I didn't mean it …" he said, and Clive laughed, wiping his face, "nah- I can do it on command i'm just messing with you-"

Luke stared off into space, and Clive could just hear the calculations … "Wha?! Why would you do that?!" He finally said, face going completely red from pure anger.

"Well you wanted me to cry didn't you?" Clive asked, and Luke slapped his stomach, "you're so fake! How can you even do that?!" He whined, "I bet you use it to trick people don't you!?" 

"... Huh? Why would I let anyone see me cry?" He said, yawning, "I just do it when i need to get out of trouble …" he wiped his face. 

"But- how??"

"Think about something sad …" 

"... You have something so sad that every time you think about it you cry?" 

Clive sat there … did, did he just expose himself? "... Ah- well- when you say it like that …" 

Luke huffed, " that doesn't seem like a very nice thing to do to yourself. You should stop that- what do you even think about?" 

"I think about losing you~" Clive cupped Luke's face, "Not being able to see that big, massive, moon sized, orbit head of yours really drives me nuts-" 

"... Really?" 

"... No" 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Luke rubbed his eyes, sitting on Clive's shoulders as they walked to the gym together. Desmond was following behind him … and to his right was a face Luke hadn't seen before. Brown hair, a tuft of it on his chin, little specks covering his cheeks, leading up to some sideburns. He had resting bitch face, sort of like Clive, but he looked down when he walked, picking at his fingernails … he looked like he'd been traumatized by something, Luke wondered what could have happened … 

"Um … so- Clive-?" Henry spoke up, getting a tired, "whot" in response as they continued walking. " You said you'd get rid of … those guys for me …" he said, and Clive looked up … "what- they're still hanging out by your locker?" He asked, and Henry nodded. 

"... Dez- do you wanna help me jump some guys?" 

"... It- it's the  _ second  _ week of school Clive-" 

"Well I told them to go away and they didn't listen, it's not gonna be enough to kick  _ one  _ of their asses." 

"Ugh- Henry why don't you just stop being stupid and get your locker moved-?" 

"Watch your tone queen DeeDee, and I'd already inquired about it- for your information there are no other lockers, the school is  _ packed  _ full. What part of  _ packed  _ do you not understand?  _ Everything _ is at maximum capacity."

"... I know I'm supposed to leave you alone … but you're looking really cute right now …"

"... Clive!" Henry anxiously said. "Don't Clive me- if you get him all excited then that's on you." 

"Both of you are such assholes! You and this- borderline sex offender-" 

" Aw- you breaking up with me?" Clive asked, and Henry growled. " I just might if you don't start holding up your end of the deal- get those guys away from me! You have no idea what it's like to be tormented every day like that …" Henry sighed, and Clive turned, looking at him, "We're just messing with you dude, I'm gonna take care of it ..." 

"... Y-you'd better-" Henry said, and Dez stretched, " so how was it, your highness? Clive won't tell me anything~" Dez said, and Henry blushed, "none of your business. Don't you have a wig to put on somewhere else? Why are you always following me?" 

"Uh- cause he needs me?" 

"He doesn't need you- he needs someone that isn't going to encourage such vile behavior. I can see where he gets such a perverse and objectifying view of other people from. It's all  _ your  _ fault." Henry said, tensing as Clive stopped in front of him. He looked up, and flinched away, having never seen such a … dead, soulless expression, "Don't think you're hot shit just because we  _ talked  _ a little- you don't know anything about me … don't talk about Dez- if you have nothing nice to say then just shut up …" he stopped, walking off. Luke was finally asleep, Clive had switched their positions, holding him in his arms so that Luke could rest his drooling face on Clive's shoulder. Henry just … went quiet, looking more or less upset about that. He looked like he wasn't surprised, but … disappointed. 

"How long do you plan on following us around for anyway?" Dez asked, and Henry shrugged, "Until Clive does what I asked him to do, of course. I'm not just going to sleep with him and get nothing out of it …" Henry cleared his throat … 

"... We should have a three-way … and then I'll be doing your errands too~" Desmond said. Henry pushed his hair back, " you touch me enough on a daily basis to warrant at least a few favors."

"I can't help it, your little- squeaks are so cute …" Desmond sighed, wrapping his arms around Henry's waist. "I just want you to know that if this was any other situation, this would be sexual harassment…" Henry said, and Clive sighed, "Relax- he's not going to do anything- that's just how he is … and he's only feeling you up because you're annoying-" 

"... I'm not annoying-" Henry said, a contemplative pout on his face as he truly considered for the first time … that he might be annoying.

"Ha! Haha! Hahahahahha" Clive sarcastically laughed, "yes you are." 

"How can I be annoying? Nobody ever talks to me to know anything about me so how can anyone know I'm annoying?"

"Why do you think no one talks to you?" 

"... But- what's so annoying about me?" 

Clive rolled his eyes, "You're judgy- you're picky- you're square- a snitch- you don't do  _ anything  _ fun. You're entirely too serious and when something doesn't go your way you threaten to sue everyone, but hey- you're not a virgin so that makes you a little  _ less  _ annoying." 

"... W-well  _ not anymore- _ " 

"... What?" Clive asked, and Henry looked down, "Not anymore … It seemed like a fair trade …" he said, and Clive just … stared at the ground. He felt an entire ocean of guilt wash over him, even Desmond was strangely quiet, both of them just watching the grass as they finally approached the gym … 

Clive sighed, pushing open the door, "I'm sorry .." he said, it was all he could think to say. "It was a pleasant experience, don't feel bad … but I want what I asked for- keep your end of the bargain" Henry said, following them inside the gym. They were all just quiet, staring at the equipment … "well- Luke and I are sleeping in the locker rooms. We'll see you later." Clive said, waving Dez and Henry off. 

He stood there for a second longer, he'd never taken anyone's virginity before. He didn't want to, he himself didn't hold it sacred but he knew other people did. He didn't want people throwing something so important at him ...

Before Clive could take two more steps across the gray carpeted floor, there was a group of girls in front of him, grabbing him by his shirt as they all yelled something at the same time. 

"You and Dahlia are dating?" 

"is it true!?"

"You said you'd date me!!"

"That's not fair!"

"Why her?!"

"Explain yourself!"

"Did you really force her to do it?!" 

Clive just stood there …  _ what _ . Man, what? He sighed, being questioned up and down by what he now perceived as a pack of hungry vultures. He wanted to speak up, to say something, but what the hell was he supposed to say? "shut up-" he hissed, and it got … quiet. Well, he - didn't mean to say  _ that _ . That was sort of mean wasn't it? "You'll wake Luke up … we aren't dating." He said, pushing his way through the crowd, leaving them all to mumble amongst themselves. He wondered, who the hell was spreading rumors about him? Someone … must be watching him or something. Creepy, a stalker? Who would even do that? 

Clive walked to the back of the gym, pushing open the locker room door, going all the way to the back of the room. He sat down on a bench that was close to the wall, and hugged Luke close, dropping his bags as he finally … fucking … went to sleep …

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


… 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Clive laid in bed, having not slept all day, only taking brief naps. Now that he was actually laying here with Luke though, he couldn't sleep. Luke was just fine, Completely K.O, wrapped up in the blanket as he snored quietly, in such a … cute way. Clive sighed, fucking Henry did nothing to solve his issue. He still thought about Luke all the time, he still stared at him, he still couldn't get him out of his mind and it was only getting worse. He was getting urges now. He just wanted … to hold him. 

_ That's so fucking weird! He's curled up with me- he doesn't feel uncomfortable sleeping right next to me and I can't stop thinking about groping him! I'm such a shitty person! _

But in the other hand 

_ He looks entirely too good right now. His pajamas are fluffy and soft, he's holding my shirt even in his sleep. His hair is … a mess, but he even has those two little clips in like he always does. He's so cute- surely i'm allowed to just … kiss him right? What he doesn't know can't hurt him _ … 

Clive sighed, pulling Luke closer, he wished they could be closer. It was exhausting running around in circles in his mind all the time. Surely … one little kiss would ease him. One little tiny itty bitty teensy little kiss wouldn't do any harm right …? 

Clive looked down, pulling away a little, observing Luke's face … he leaned down, his lip trembling as he … suddenly pulled away. 

Uh oh

_ Uh oh _

Oops oops oops, no, that wasn't supposed to happen. The boner fairy isn't scheduled to drop by until something happens, nothing is happening! Oh god, Clive pushed Luke away, very gently, but to his immediate shock and dismay, Luke pulled back, holding onto Clive, even in his sleep. He had his leg pressed up against the now painfully hard bulge. 

_ How'd it get like that so fast?? _

Clive mentally died, what was he supposed to do? He'd … have to just wait for it to go down … who was he kidding? It wasn't gonna go anywhere as long as he could see Luke. He'd just have to make up an excuse, morning wood, a wet dream, anything would be better than, "i tried to kiss you and my body got confused," just as long as he didn't say that he'd be fine!! 

He sighed, trying to get back in a comfortable position without grinding himself against Luke's leg … He wondered, what would Luke think of him if he knew about all of this? He'd probably think he was Yucky ...


	11. Errands

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clive runs a few errands for Henry, and Luke helps Anthony feel better about Sophia.

Their second weekend together, what a blast, right? Luke and Clive were both spending it outside, in the crisp cold of the afternoon. Luke stood there, watching Clive boredly grind his shoe into the face of some bald guy. Apparently this was what Henry wanted, these guys had been harassing him or something. Clive himself looked bored though, as if he … seriously didn't wanna be there. Of course he didn't, but he really looked like he'd rather be home screaming into his headset. There were three other guys on the ground, Luke had to stand there and watch Clive fight all of them by himself. His nose was bleeding, he did get beat up a little … but he'd knocked three of them out, without Desmond's help at that. The glasses-wearing, hypersexual teen said he didn't wanna get into trouble so early in the year, so Clive just went by himself. "Stop bothering that kid with the goatee." He said, " or i'll … i don't know- keep stepping on you or something? I'll find you, and step on you …" 

"Get … your foot off my- _ goddamn _ \- face." 

Clive sighed, boredly blowing a blood booger onto the guy's face. Luke cringed, and looked away, not understanding the point of that disgusting action, " that's not what i asked, are you gonna leave him alone or what? Why'd we even have to fight about it? It would have been perfectly fine if you just said ' _ yea alright we'll leave him alone _ ' but even now you just have to be so annoying. Do you like this or something? You're not my type but if you just wanna get stepped on then I'm down ..." Clive moved his foot off the guy's face, wiping his nose on his yellow sleeve. He was wearing a sweater today, one that Luke had sneakily put a bee sticker on. Now it was ruined though, red body fluid smeared onto the arm, probably staining it's pretty vibrant hue… Luke sighed, and Clive finally got done proving his point. 

He stepped away from the results, and walked in Luke's direction, "my nose hurts …" he mumbled. It looked a little swollen, but nothing too serious probably. Luke tried not to stare at it … but it didn't really ease his worries to pretend like Clive wasn't hurt. He followed after him, staring down at the grass as they walked. "Where are we going now?" He asked, getting a simple hum in response , " back home i guess? I'm kinda hungry, and I really need to smoke …" Clive sighed. Luke looked up at him … "um- I can make us something to eat … and fix your nose if you want?" Luke said. 

"Sure- Whatever" 

Luke smiled, taking hold of Clive's hand, "i was thinking- since we only have two burners- i can make spaghetti?" He asked. Clive nodded, "yeah … sounds alright" he said, hand sort of shaking at the feeling of Luke's little palms on his own. "do you like meatballs? I don't- i just mix the meat with the sauce but sometimes if there's a chunk I leave it in." Luke said. Clive shrugged, "I don't have any preferences." He said, knowing that whatever Luke made would be good either way. Luke was holding onto his fingers, not even his whole hand, so tiny, so delicate. "Clive your hand- is really sweaty-" Luke let go, and Clive flinched "o-oh- really?" He said, wiping his hand on the sweater, "sorry-" 

"Are you hot? But it's so cold out-" 

"It- don't look into it- bodies are weird, you know? It's nothing." Clive said. 

_ Jesus christ it's getting worse- _

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Clive sat on the floor, being too tall for Luke to naturally reach his face otherwise. Watching Luke clean the cuts on his face really made him realize what he'd been getting himself into. He needed to start taking better care of himself, and stop getting into shit so much. It was only the second week and he'd already lost a tooth, and busted his nose. He let his little wonderful heavenly roommate swab his face with peroxide, cleaning off the blood from the cuts on the surface, but also taking care of the blood on the inside of Clive's nose, trying not to make him sneeze and start the bleeding all over again as he gently cleaned the wound. Luke set the wads of bloody cotton down, and picked up a bandaid. He stuck it on the cut that went across Clive's nose, the guy that punched him must have been wearing a ring or something. "I don't want you to get in anymore fights. People are messing up your face and that's bad- how are you gonna look during graduation?" Luke said, taking another bandaid and putting it under Clive's eye. He leaned down, kissing Clive's nose very, very gently, before pulling away with a bright smile, "There- doesn't that feel better?" Luke asked.

Clive

Just

Stared out into space, wondering what that last thing was. Did Luke just try and kiss him better? That's so cute, he probably didn't even know what Clive had tried to do yesterday ... "what - what was that for?" The tall, nerve wrecked teen asked, and Luke gave him an innocent look, moved away from him, and flopped himself down on Clive's bed like a tired little puppy. "my mom always kisses my bandaids so they get better- that's how you activate them. They don't work if you don't kiss it" he said. 

" … Oh- I- had no idea …" Clive's face went completely red. He could have sworn his nose was about to start bleeding again. He was using every last muscle in his body to not go stiff, thinking about the most disgusting things. Anything to stay flaccid. dead puppies and grandma - dead puppies and grandma. Why was this such a difficult thing for him to do? Why was it so hard to not be aroused by everything this boy did?? Not to like everything he did? Ugh-

"Well now you know-" Luke said, "when I get cut I expect you to be nice and do it for me too-" 

"... O-of course-" Clive said, "i mean- whatever-" he mumbled, really starting to lose his edge. "Clive you really should just get contacts.." Luke said, referring to Clive's situation regarding his reluctance to wear his much needed glasses. 

Clive shrugged, "I don't wanna put my fingers in my eyes every day …" he said, still thinking about Luke's adorable little baby lips pressing against his nose. 

_ THINK ABOUT SOMETHING ELSE PLEASE DEAR GOD- _

"then wear your glasses! I'm gonna start bringing them around and making you wear them if you don't!" Luke huffed. There wasn't really any need for him to do that, Clive just figured maybe he was tired of taking his notes, and would rather keep drawing cutesy little swirly hearts and watching stuffed animal unboxing videos. "What's it to you? Tired of taking my notes?" He asked, and Luke looked down, "No- but you need your glasses right? It's bad if you don't wear them." Luke said, getting a suspicious glance. "A-and I'm worried about you- you keep getting into trouble- you won't pay attention in class- it's bad …" he looked away, rolling over onto his back. Clive just sat there … he was making Luke worry now? That wasn't how this was supposed to go. Luke doesn't have any reason to worry about Clive at all, and yet he did … probably just because he's so nice. Too nice- honestly. Clive sighed, "Don't worry- I'll be fine-" he said, and Luke smiled, " you'll stop getting into fights?" 

"Yeah …"

"... A-and you'll clean up your own messes?" 

"That's your job-"

"No it's not! You pig-" Luke whined, "How do you even make everything so dirty! The second I clean up you've already destroyed it all over again!" He glared at Clive, who shrugged, reaching out to poke Luke's stomach, "no idea- but I appreciate you~" he said, immediately melting at Luke's angry giggle, watching him roll away, "don't touch me!" He whined. 

Luke laid there as Clive got up, "I still have stuff to do- but we should go out to eat later on if you're tired of cooking and cleaning." He suggested, going over to the counter to grab his house keys. "Ew- like a date? No way-" 

"No - not like a date- like standing beside the dumpsters eating pizza so I can smoke in peace." 

"... O-oh-" Luke said, not … really minding that idea as much as he should, "fine then." He huffed. Just as long as they'd be outside where he could scream and someone would hear him. Clive left, shutting the door softer than he usually slammed it on the way out … 

Luke sat up, and shuffled his way up to Clive's pillow, laying down on it, sticking his face in it …  _ nice. _

Clive's pillow smelled so good now, the sweet scent of Luke's shampoo mixed with the spice of Clive's cologne. It was addicting, it was like eating cold ice cream on a scolding hot summer day. It was like shining a flashlight in the dark. Heaven and hell, good and evil, Love and hate. 

_ Sniff sniff _

Luke hugged it close. He'd been feeling this way for a while now. Whenever he was near Clive and their smells would mix, he'd just be stuck there, breathing through his nose really hard. He knew it was weird to smell someone's pillow, but Clive wasn't any better, always rubbing him like a puppy. There wasn't any reason why Luke should feel personally bad about inhaling the leftover Clive particles off his pillow. Plus- it only smells good when Luke was mixed in with it. Clive 100% stinks any other time! Somehow he always smells like he's been outside, which he usually has been outside, what a dog … 

Luke sat up, and looked down at the pillow, picking off one of Clive's hairs. He looked at it … he wanted to go put it in the trash, but for some reason his mind was telling him that this little hair was important. It did come from Clive, what should he do with it? He had no idea … so he did what any normal person would do, and just decided to put it back on the pillow, shuffling his way underneath Clive's blanket. He wanted to take a nap, but he wouldn't be able to if Clive wasn't here … ugh- Luke should have just gone with him. He regretted not going. Shouldn't he always be with Clive? What if something happened! How inconsiderate! Yes- Luke was going to text him right now and ask him where he was! 

He reached down into his pocket, and pulled out his phone. The brightness pushed away the darkness from underneath Clive's blanket. He typed as best he could, 

"Where are you?"

"..."

" I literally haven't left the building what's wrong w/ u"

"Come back!"

"Y"

Luke huffed, what does he mean Y? Because! 

"I wanna come too!"

"..." 

"No" 

Luke huffed, and got up, shoving the blankets off of himself. He rolled out of Clive's bed, and walked towards the door. He was just gonna go find him! He wasn't gonna be left at home! 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Luke stood on the bus, he was the only one here. He had no idea where he was, or how he'd gotten here … but he was tired. He needed to go to sleep so bad, it was late in the afternoon, where was his dorm again? He was sort of … lost. Clive was going to kill him for this, he let out a sigh, feeling the bus stop … someone got on, and Luke looked up. He saw that vampire-looking blonde boy get on the bus, sniffling, tears rolling down his face. He wasn't wearing that cape he always had on, instead he was just … in the normal black blazer, gray shirt and gray pants. Red threads, no accessories, hair still curled up and wavy at its ends. Luke watched him get on the bus … and sit down. He didn't even seem to notice Luke standing there, he was lost in his own world … Luke, hesitantly walked over, and sat down next to him. He didn't say anything, just very gently gave him a pat on the back. 

"Um- Anthony- right?" Luke asked, and Anthony nodded. "... Wait- You're that little boy that's always hanging out with Clive aren't you?" He asked, drying his face, "Ugh- i'd like to request that you keep any interaction with me private-" 

"Hm? Are you avoiding him?"

"Of course …" Anthony sniffled, and Luke looked down … "What's wrong?" He asked, flinching away as Anthony broke up into sobs. "I'm an idiot!" He said, snot running down his face as he cried. Luke had no idea what to do, so he just sat there, petting him, repeatedly telling him that it was okay. "I- I drove her away! She left the school- cut literally every form of communication from me- and to make it worse she's pregnant- her parents are going to slaughter her and it's entirely my fault. I've essentially- ruined her Life- and I don't even know how to fix it!" Anthony said. 

"... O-oh-" Luke mumbled, wow. That is- a lot … He could barely process it, or understand what exactly Anthony was feeling. It seemed like overwhelming guilt, mixed with a little self hatred and frustration, realization and sorrow, blended together into a dangerous dubious soup. "You're talking about your girlfriend?" Luke asked, and Anthony nodded… 

"You must have really liked her …" Luke said, rubbing his back. "I'd die before I let anything happen to her- I love her- i  _ still  _ love her-" Anthony said, voice going quiet as he whimpered, "But there's no way I can be with her when I'm like this- she's probably better off far away from me. I mean- if i had just- paid attention …" Anthony shriveled up. Luke shook his head, "No- there's still hope … um- i think I talked to her- she's the girl with the purple hair right?" Luke said, and Anthony nodded. 

"Well- she was crying too- she wanted to talk to you, and she was upset because she was all alone suddenly." 

"... Y-yeah- I-" Anthony wiped his face, "I didn't wanna see her after i found out what happened- but- I got over it when I realized that it wouldn't have happened if I had … been there-" he sniffled, "Everyone tries to tell me it's not my fault but they have no idea how little we even spoke to each other. Dating, and we never say good morning or good night- the only time we talk is to argue- that's … no wonder she wanted someone else." Anthony sighed. 

Luke smiled, "well- you can talk to her now!" He said, pulling out his phone. "She gave me her number so we could-"

"N-no! I'm just going to make things worse!" He said, and he looked like he truly believed it. Luke knew he was wrong, but the fact that he was so afraid was just- heartbreaking ...

"No you won't! She  _ wants _ to talk to you-! She feels bad about what she did, you could at least let her know that you aren't upset! If you care about her, and you'd do anything for her- then you should talk to her. Otherwise you're just a liar …" Luke crossed his arms. " She tells me all the time she wishes she could come back … you'd make her really happy if you talked." Luke assured him. 

Anthony was still, looking at the phone in Luke's hand as he held his hand to his damp face, pushing his hair out of the way. He sat there, eyes shifting down to the floor, softening along with his expression for just a second … "Alright-" he said… 

Luke pressed the call button on his phone, "I promise it's going to be okay, I wanna help you two." He said, handing his phone to Anthony. The blonde sniffled, "actually- despite the situation- Clive has already helped us more than I could thank him for …" 

"H-huh? But he's the reason all of this happened!"

"Yes but - well … if he'd never gotten ahold of her- I doubt she'd have gone anywhere- and … there's a possibility she wouldn't be around today. It would have been my fault too ..." 

"... What do you mean?" Luke asked, but before he could get an answer, the phone picked up, and a gentle voice came through, "Lukeee! I was just about to call you!" She said, "You'll never guess what happened- I got accepted into this online university and I'm gonna be starting classes there tomorrow!" She happily said. She'd been having such a hard time lately, this was extremely good news.

Anthony … had such a big smile on his face, he was crying again, shakily holding the phone. Luke gestured for him to talk, but he shook his head no. He didn't wanna say anything, he just … wanted to hear her voice. "That's good! I forget what you're going to college for again- can you tell me?" Luke said so that she wouldn't get suspicious during the silence. Maybe if he just stalled, Anthony would get the courage to talk. 

"Oh, I'm going for agriculture- as in farming and things of the sort. I'm also going for a type of zoology as a double major- so I can spend all day around animals. It seems like it'd be fun…" Sophia snickered, and Anthony sighed. Luke thought he looked like a puppy … 

"Hey- I have someone who wants to talk to you-" Luke said, deciding to take this into his own hands.

"Hm? Is it Dahlia coming to tell me she told me so again?" 

"No no! It's Anthony!" Luke happily said. 

Sophia chuckled, "that would be a pleasant surprise- but I know you're just messing with me~" she sighed, " you and your little jokes, your impression is spot on though…" she said, and Anthony finally spoke up, "What impression?" He asked. 

It was quiet … Sophia hummed, "that- was really accurate- you really had me scared for a second …" she said. 

"It … it's not an Impression-" Anthony quietly, nervously laughed. "It's really me- i'm … happy you're doing better-"

" … oh … y-yeah-" Sophia audibly sniffled, her voice shattering, " I miss you- it's boring here …" 

"I miss you too-" 

"I'm so sorry-"

"I'm sorry too!"

"You shouldn't be!"

"Neither should you!"

"Don't argue with me!"

"You're the one arguing with me!" 

Luke watched as they had a very confusing argument, both of them crying their eyes out to the point where they had stopped talking. Anthony looked so pathetic, he couldn't even hold the phone anymore, eyes bloodshot as he sat there, in pieces. 

"I apologise for all the things i said- I didn't mean any of it- i swear-" Anthony said, and Sophia immediately yelled, "Just shut up and come visit me!" Through the phone's speaker, probably breaking it with the passion in her voice. 

Luke sat there, watching them exchange contact information. Anthony looked so happy all of a sudden … sort of manic … but happy. 

"I have to go- but I expect you to be here soon-"

"I will- how about next weekend?"

"Any time!"

They ended their conversation with a million i love yous, and Anthony handed Luke his phone back … "thank you so much- if there's ever anything I could do for you then don't hesitate to ask." He said. Luke hummed, "I'm lost- do you know how to get back to building C?" He asked. Anthony nodded, " when this bus stops, get off and go to the one down the street. There should be a map. You might have to hop on and off a few busses before you get home- but it'll be better than walking there." He said. Luke nodded, and Anthony yawned, "So- where's your dog?" He asked. 

"... Um- i don't know actually." 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Luke held onto Clive, being carried home in the middle of the night. The map was so confusing, he ended up having to call Clive and try to explain what was happening. He was angry, of course, but once he got to the bus stop, seeing Luke curled up under the bench … he couldn't be upset. 

"Are you mad?" Luke asked, and Clive huffed, "Why do you wanna follow me around in the first place? You seemed grossed out this morning …" Clive said, and Luke held on tighter, "It is gross! But I … wanted to take a nap, and I can't sleep without you- and you know? It's not fair for you to leave me behind- don't you feel better when I'm around? …" Luke said. 

"No- i feel awful being around you- it's miserable-"

"Wha? Why!" 

Clive went red, "Cause you're ugly- and your face makes me wanna vomit-" 

"... Hmf" Luke nuzzled Clive, "you don't mean that. I bet you actually like me but you just don't wanna admit it-" he said, yelping as he was dropped. "Why am I carrying you? Use your own legs- unless you can't balance with that huge head of yours." Clive said, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Ow-" Luke mumbled, getting up from the ground. He huffed, "my head isn't big!!" He stomped as he walked, following after his rude roommate. Clive shrugged, "sure it's not-" he said, "your head is about as big as a watermelon sitting on a toothpick-"

"Y-yea? Well- you have spider legs!" 

"Good for kicking around your football head." 

"Hmf- this is why you don't have a girlfriend- you're just mean to everyone and they can't stand you" 

"Actually- I don't have a girlfriend because I have a boyfriend …" Clive went red at the sound of his own voice saying those words. 

" … you do?" Luke asked. Clive turned to him … what- why did he suddenly look so depressed??


	12. Necessity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clive needs to figure out what he wants. Luke wears a skirt.

Luke was trying to avoid Clive today, having made his way to school all by himself. He didn't have time to wash his clothes because Clive needed to wash  _ his  _ clothes, so he had nothing to wear this morning. He just decided to ask Dahlia for clothes, it seemed like an appropriate thing to do but … well, thank god Clive was asleep while Luke was getting dressed. 

He stood in the hallway next to his first period Class, gripping his bag, stuffed cat in his hands. His exposed legs shook from how cold he was, the skirt not covering anything up … he hoped Clive wouldn't even look at him. It was the middle of September and he was already thinking about dropping out of school completely and living on a farm with Sophia. Luke flinched as he heard the familiar three voices coming down the corridor. 

"That little  _ shit _ \- when I see him I'm gonna, uggghh-" Clive Growled, and Desmond continually rubbed his back. "Calm down- Dahlia said he was already waiting in class-" He said. Henry was there too, walking slightly behind the two, holding onto Clive's hand. He looked sort of like a timid dog on a leash, following behind the very angry teen. Luke whimpered, looking around for a place to hide, but then he figured that he had to go to class either way so there wasn't anywhere to go. 

The little blue skirt, cream colored shirt and black tie, opened black blazer with matching shoes and a thin layer of nervous sweat all seemed to catch Desmond's eye at once. He stopped, unintentionally tripping Clive up a little bit, getting a confused hiss as he turned to Desmond. "Are you-" he stopped … and looked in the direction of where Dez was looking. 

Luke, timidly looking at him, face dusted pink as he held onto the stuffed animal with all his life. He had his other hand on the bottom of his skirt, holding it down with as much force as he possibly could without pulling it down. Luke's pretty brown eyes and handsome face and little pink lips and his- 

Clive turned around, and walked the other way, holding his breath as he glared down at the floor. Desmond snapped out of it, and turned, looking between Luke and Clive, back and forth, trying to decide which was more important right now … he took off, running after Clive, who had gone full sprint out the door. "Cliivee!!" He called out, not wanting him to skip class so early in the year. Henry just stared at Luke, quietly approaching him, "Hello there- he seemed to be shocked to his core by your presence, tell me- who are you?" Henry asked, looking down at Luke. 

"I- I'm Luke-" said Luke, who was hiding his face in his feline friend. "I see … Is Clive afraid of you, Luke?" Asked Henry as he observed the way the boy was dressed. He seemed to be thrown off by his general choice of fashion, but … well, he personally thought Luke looked cute that way, and If Desmond could crossdress then maybe Clive just had a strange habit of being friends with crossdressers. Either way, he didn't know why Clive ran away, there didn't really seem to be anything going on with Luke … 

"I don't think so … he probably ran because he thought I looked gross and he didn't wanna see me-" Luke said, sounding extremely disappointed. Henry tilted his head, "Gross? I happen to think you look  _ extremely  _ cute. Perhaps he was nervous, he tends to run from his problems, literally and metaphorically …" 

The bell rang, and students began flooding into classrooms as teachers unlocked their doors. Luke stood still, "well- I have to go-" Henry said, giving Luke a pat on the head. "Oh- okay, bye …" Luke waved to him as he left … class wouldn't officially start for the next thirty minutes, Luke wondered if he should stand still and wait for Clive to come back, but something was telling him that that was a bad idea. He looked down at his shoes, flinching as he heard Clive, "I'm going home!" He yelled, making a complete scene in the hallway as Dahlia dragged him back, along with Desmond. Luke stood there for a second, before shuffling out of the way as they got close. 

Clive looked sedated, hanging off of Desmond's shoulder, half asleep almost as Dez pet him. "It's gonna be okay buddy-" he cooed, shushing the animalistic human as he whined. 

"Hhnn" Clive mumbled, being led into the classroom, right past Luke, who just stood there … completely in awe at Desmond's ability to calm Clive down when he really needed to. "What's wrong with him today?" Dahlia asked, looking down at Luke, who just shrugged in response. "I think it's because I'm wearing a skirt-" He said, and Dahlia paused … she looked Luke over, and hummed, opening her bag. "Here-" she said, handing Luke a little bunny hair clip. It was white with pink ears and a little angry face, Luke thought it was downright adorable. He put it in his hair, clipping it to the side above his ear as he walked into Class after her. Clive had his head against the table, laying there with his eyes closed, a sad expression as Desmond rubbed his back, going "shh shhh" near his ear. 

Luke sat down next to him, and Dahlia pulled up a chair next to Luke, "Luke is so cute he incapacitated him …" Desmond said, hugging Clive, burying his face in his back, "What's going on with your clothes?" He said, and Luke huffed in response. He squished his animal, " I couldn't wash anything in time so Dahlia gave me this to wear." he said. Desmond looked up, and Clive mumbled something incoherent … " you're gonna have to speak up honey~ mommy can't hear you when you mumble." Dez said, and Clive turned, looking at Luke … he squinted, "fucking gross-" He mumbled. 

Luke just stared down at the floor in disappointment … 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Luke watched Clive bend a plastic pen in his hands, having broken it by now. He was curving it from side to side, face red, sweating, quiet as Luke took his notes for him … 

Luke looked over at him, feeling completely ignored … for some reason it was strange not having Clive constantly picking at him, " um- Clive?" Luke asked, wondering if he was okay. He reached out, touching his arm, and as soon as he did the pen loudly snapped in half, causing a few people to turn their heads as the broken piece was launched across the room. "What." Clive said, and Luke quietly uttered, "u-um … if you're sleepy we can go take a nap. You don't look all that well …" he said, and Clive paused … 

_ If he went into the bathrooms all alone with Luke, then it would give him the perfect opportunity to see what's underneath that fabric.  _

No! Wait! How is he supposed to survive if he does? That's a shot right to the dick for even thinking about it! And what if Luke wakes up, what then? There's no explaining something like that! 

_ But who cares - he can always just beat him into submission. What is Luke gonna do? Nothing, he won't tell anyone or say anything as long as he thinks Clive will stomp him for it.  _

But that's … not the kind of relationship he wants with Luke … 

_ But it's not like that's going to happen anyways! He's insufferable so he might as well take advantage of the situation while he has a chance!  _

But Luke might get scared, he didn't wanna scare him, or hurt him, or make him cry. He just … he didn't even know what he wanted at this point. 

"Clive?"

"Luke- please- be quiet." He said, shaking Luke's arm off. Good job, he didn't curse him out this time! But that was mostly due to exhaustion. He had no energy to yell and scream right now so he wasn't going to … "oh … okay…" Luke said, going back to taking notes. Clive watched his hand as he wrote, trying not to think about how soft it would feel wrapped around his length. Luke probably knew nothing about sex, Clive would probably have to guide him through the process. 

_ Yeah- put your hands here- like that- faster- _ **_harder_ **

He was spacing out a little, not even bothering to stop his train of thought. He let his mind wander all over Luke's body, but every mental image he had felt … wrong. He didn't know what Luke looked like under his clothes, but he sure as hell wanted to find out. 

_ Wait- but wouldn't that be cheating on henry?? _

Clive sighed, right, he was a lot of things but he'd like to not have a record of being unfaithful. He didn't care if people thought he was a slut, or a whore, he wasn't a cheater … somehow he was able to stop all his dirty thoughts. Maybe his desire to be a good person could override his desire to fuck his roommate. 

Yes, don't do it, he wasn't going to do it, he wasn't going to hurt anyone, he isn't that kind of person. 

Just as he thought that, someone came in late, opening the classroom door in a breath. "I'm so sorry-" they said, explaining to the teacher what had happened. They were dismissively gestured towards their desk … which was missing a seat. That seat was currently occupied by Luke, who'd taken it so he wouldn't have to sit on anyone's lap, unlike the other unfortunate kids here. "Sorry- I was using your chair-" Luke said, getting up. Clive looked down at the chair, seeing the little thigh print in it … 

_ Nghhshhd _

The person came around, grabbing their chair from Luke's hands, giving him a quick thank you. Luke nodded, and turned back to Clive, putting his leg over Clive's, before sitting down on one …

_ REEEE _

Clive could feel his ass on his leg, so squishy! It was nothing like when Luke was wearing his shorts! He could feel the little bumps of his pelvic bones, and the way his underwear tightened against his skin. Luke's little briefs! Clive looked down … though, something … felt strange. Luke was sitting on his leg, but he felt unusually smooth down there. Clive figured his junk must be so small he couldn't feel it, and at that moment, the boner fairy decided to come and visit, and  _ oh jesus christ we have a serious problem. _

Clive sighed, alright, time to think of gross things. It was only a half chub, it'd go down with a little bit of thinking. Come on, Boogers on the bottom of the desk, unflushed toilet that people kept shitting in and just stacking shit on top of shit until someone flushed it. The public laundry room with washing machines that were sometimes backed up with cum, (the reason he has his own washer.) 

Gore videos, old people, sad puppies, he was sort of hungry too, he'd rather be hungry than horny …

And within about a few minutes he wasn't anymore. He sighed, well, at least he was getting better at making it go away … Luke was so warm between his legs. It felt good in contrast with the cold air. The school kept the buildings cold, Clive sighed, imagining Luke warming his face with his thighs and  _ god fucking damn it no! _

"Clive-" 

"Whaaaat-" Clive whined, wanting to cry right about now. 

Luke shifted a little, "I have to go to the bathroom-" he said, and … Clive shrugged, "okay? Go?" He said. Luke shook his head, "you have to come with me-" 

"Why the hell do I need to go with you to the bathroom?" 

"Because I … i'm scared-" 

"Of what?" 

"I don't wanna go alone in the boys bathroom dressed like this-"

" … Then go into the girl's bathroom." Clive said, as a genuine solution to the problem. Luke whined, "you would say that, you pervert-" 

"Call me a pervert  _ one more time _ -"

Luke huffed, "Lecher-" he said … and Clive wrapped his arms around Luke, "fine then- you can go to the bathroom right here-" he said, squeezing Luke in a hug. Luke held his breath, "Cwive no!" He whisper yelled, hoping nobody would turn around and see this. The class was full of mumbles as everyone conversed while the teacher taught. Clive reached down, deciding to take his chances, squeezing Luke's legs in his hand. So squishy, " mmh-" Luke whined, "stop it Clive i really have to go!" 

Clive stopped, feeling Luke's legs trembling underneath his hands. He put his head on Luke's shoulder, " the bell is about to ring in a second, we'll go during the transition- but You better hurry or I'm leaving you inside." He said, purposely breathing into Luke's ear, just to feel him clench up. It was soooo good, he really should cut it out but Luke was just, amazing …

"Okayy! Get off me-" Luke said, and Clive pulled away, deciding to try and actually pay attention before the class period was over. 

Once it finally was, and Clive had to watch Luke get up, careful not to expose anything between his legs … he was pleasantly surprised with a little damp stain on the leg of his pants. 

_ Luke sweat luke sweat luke sweat LUKE JUICE- _

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Clive sat on the grass outside, underneath a tree, with Desmond, far away from everyone else. This was where they  _ usually  _ had lunch, and the main reason why everyone thought they were dating. " I wouldn't even care if we weren't roommates, it's just the fact that I have to see him again every day that bothers me … I already get shit because i'm mean to him, imagine how upset he'd be if I- ugh- Dez what do I do??" Clive said, having crushed his can of chips in his hand. 

" Well- i told you that you should try and get into someone else … " Dez said. 

"I did! That's what Henry is for- and the weird thing is that He … he's perfect … but he's not Luke- Dez …" Clive sighed, "Henry fucks like nobody's watching- he's kind- he's smart- he's cute- he's  _ rich- _ He doesn't ask for anything or need anything- he's a little shy and a little judgemental but he's still willing to get to know someone- he gave me a chance- He's great but he isn't … Luke." Clive said. He was more frustrated than ever, and now he was cold so he was even more upset. " Well- maybe you should try someone else? Henry didn't really get your attention, you just went for him because he's a twink …  _ maybe it's time to call Alfendi _ -" 

"Definitely not-" 

Dez sighed, "then- I don't know what to tell you. The only other thing you can do is get with Luke so you can get over it. Are you sure there isn't anyone else you're interested in?" He asked. Clive just stared at the ground … a cold breeze blew by, and Desmond opened a bottle of water, drinking from it. It made him cold in the middle, so he immediately stopped, suddenly freezing, even with all his winter attire on. "Well … nobody but you." Clive said, hoping the silence wouldn't prolonge too long … 

Desmond replied almost immediately, "oh so  _ now  _ you like me?" He said, smiling as Clive shrugged. "You're the only other person that I can think of and … Let's be honest- it's not a secret we like each other like that …" 

"I guess not- but aren't you scared it'll ruin our friendship?"

" … I can't see myself ditching you over a breakup. You're my  _ best friend _ ." 

"Yeah- but could you see yourself kissing me at our wedding?" 

"... I-"

"And could you see yourself adopting kids with me? Cause I want a family one day, and you can't stand children. Can you see yourself not getting into trouble- wearing your glasses like i keep telling you to- not being so reckless- I don't want to date someone who can't even manage his own money- and doesn't listen to a word I say. Are you gonna be willing to  _ grow up _ ?" Dez asked … 

"Or are you just saying whatever comes to mind because you don't know what else to do …" Dez sipped his cold water, and Clive was quiet … "Damn ..." He mumbled to himself, a thousand yard stare on his face … "I'm not saying no, Clive. I'm saying I want you to get serious. I can't be with someone who doesn't think about the future. What do you even want from Luke in the long term? Do you  _ actually _ like him or are you just itching to get with him? You need to start thinking more … but if you still decide you want to be with me then I'm always willing to give you a chance sweetie~" Dez said, and Clive … slowly nodded. 

He looked like he was lost in thought, which Dez found extremely adorable.  _ Lil guy is thinking so hard. He's so cute. _

He sighed, " what are you thinking about?" He asked, and Clive blushed, "That you're really mature- and i'm really not …" Clive mumbled. 

"Yea but that's one of your cute traits. You act all tough but you're really just a confused little boy on the inside. My little knife wielding man~" 

"Speaking of knives- can I have it back now?" 

"No- you can have it back when you stop pulling it out on people-"

"He pissed me off-"

"So you were gonna  _ stab  _ him? Crazy-" 

"  _ He would have deserved it _ " Clive huffed, pulling up the grass as he sat there. "Eat your lunch- we only have a few minutes left and you don't wanna be hungry-" Dez said, and Clive sighed, picking up his bag. Luke had made him a bento, rice balls and sausage and he- just couldn't eat it. Luke had drawn faces on everything with condiments and Clive wanted to preserve his art work forever. Still, he lifted to his mouth and took a bite, knowing full well that if he didn't eat he'd be bothering Luke with making more food at home. 

"Are you doing track this year?" Desmond asked, and Clive scoffed, "no- i told that  _ bitch  _ he and his team can fuck themselves- I …" Clive sighed, "Dez I can't even do it- my lungs hurt when I run I had to quit -" Clive admitted, dropping the mean act for a second. 

"Yea … but you've been trying to quit haven't you?" 

"Yeah but it's so hard … i haven't gotten through the pack in my bag yet- I only smoke one every, maybe three days? I'm just trying to go for longer every time but it's so hard- i feel sick without them" Clive said, and Desmond hummed, "that's withdrawal, I think you got it though, I believe in you~" He said, watching Clive hesitantly eat his lunch … 

He hoped he could find whatever it was he's been looking for. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


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Clive stood in the hallway, watching Luke come out of the elevator. He immediately started running at full speed towards him, "Cwiive! I wanna go homeee!" He yelled, and Clive stuck his leg out, sweeping his feet as he came by, "Don't touch me- and stop running in … " Clive just stared. 

_ Aww! Luke is wearing heart print briefs! Look at his butt oh my god! _

Clive snapped out of it, thinking about what Dez said earlier … he shouldn't just be thinking about one thing, right? What  _ did  _ he want from Luke. " Clivee-" Luke got up, "Ow … you- stupid! You did that on purpose so you can look up my skirt! You looked, didn't you?!" Luke said, slamming his fists against Clive's chest … "no, I didn't see any hearts- i don't know what you're talking about …" 

"..." Luke blushed, and picked up his bag, "stupid. Dumb. I hate you-" he mumbled, pulling down the ends of his skirt. "Where's your friend?" He asked, grabbing Clive's hand. They both walked at about the same time, at some point Clive learned to slow down to keep up with Luke. "Dez? Oh- he went ahead and went home …" That was a lie. Clive asked to be alone with Luke so he could sort out his thoughts. He figured if Luke was right there in front of him, then he'd have an easier time figuring out what his goal was. 

"Oh- that's too bad- I wanted to make dinner for him too-" 

"Hm? Why?"

"Because he said he likes my cooking-" 

… "  _ Eh? I like your cooking  _ …" Clive said, barely loud enough to be considered audible as Luke looked up, "You do?" He asked, a look of hope in his eyes. Clive nodded, " I wouldn't eat it if I didn't like it-" he said. Luke smiled, Clive had never seen him look so happy … and that's when he realized- 

_ Luke … is a wife _

He does the cooking, the cleaning, the grocery shopping. He helps Clive pick his clothes in the morning, making sure he looks decent. They aren't married but they're always together, they live together, they sleep together, they eat together. They're … together. They  _ are  _ together. They can't even separate themselves from each other because they won't be able to sleep if they do. 

Clive sighed, no wonder he was so attracted to Luke, they had been pretending to be married this entire time! Luke takes care of  _ everything.  _ And all Clive does is rough him up and occasionally get him cake to keep him from being too upset, but money can't buy affection. Luke … Seemed affectionate towards him, but Clive was always rejecting it! 

Ugh- so frustrating. 

Clive wondered … about a future where Luke was his "wife" and they lived together. It wouldn't be much different than what they were doing now, right? And Clive … liked living with Luke if he had to be honest … 

"Hey- you haven't puked in a while …" Clive said, and Luke looked away, "do you want me to, or something?" He asked. 

"Of course not- it's just weird that you haven't …" 

"I'm used to you being mean to me. If I throw up every time you're scary i'll be dead in a day." 

"You think I'm scary?"

"No … just stupid." Luke said. Clive lifted his hand, smacking the back of his head. Not too hard, but just hard enough to make Luke upset. "What was that for!?"

"I'm dumb- I can't understand what you're saying-" Clive said, continually smacking him around. Luke just swatted at his hands, trying his best to hit him back, "I said you're stupid!!"

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


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Clive sat in the bathroom, it was late … and he had put Luke to bed. He was sleeping soundly in his little Teddy bear pile, and Clive had nothing better to do than go through his dirty clothes. He knew it was wrong, he knew he shouldn't have … but he just had to. He had in his hands, a pair of plain white briefs, a wad of fabric that he'd been smelling. He knew it was weird but he couldn't get over the way Luke's dirty underwear smelled. The vulgar side of his brain yelled  _ he smells like pussy  _ but the more sensible side knew that was probably not the case, and that these things were just soiled and had been sitting in a pile of dirty, sweaty clothes … but that didn't stop him from getting high on every wiff. 

His mind clouded as he inhaled, he might not know what he wants from Luke in the long term, but he can think of a few things that'd make him happy right now. Something like, pulling down his waistband, which he did, and taking out his length. It throbbed as he sat there, not even touching himself, so horny that his tip drooled onto the floor without any other motion other than him inhaling Luke's sweat. He spread his legs a little, stomach tightening as he gripped his length. He felt overstimulated, giving himself a very slow stroke. Smelling, rubbing, smelling and rubbing. 

He gripped the base of his cock, and bit down on his lip, tilting his head back as he felt the whole organ throb one painful time. He was already panting, slicked with his own fluids as he stroked himself, mouth stuck open in a constant scrunched up expression. He looked like he was in pain, but in reality, he was about to- 

He came, hearing it spray the side of the tub. His heart throbbed in his chest and he moaned, gripping himself as he let out a few more spurts. It felt so good, that was the best "session" he'd ever had in his life. Even after he came, his dick continued to throb and twitch. It was so excited, why was this his body's reaction to Luke?

He whimpered, dick sensitive as he moved, realizing what he'd just done … he didn't wanna stop just yet, he was rock solid, pressing the fabric to his length, 

There was a knock on the door "Cwive … come baack …" 

"I- give me a second pukey!" 

Luke huffed, reluctantly saying "okay" as he audibly laid back down on Clive's bed … 

This was gonna be difficult-


	13. Dysfunction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clive takes a huge hit to his libido and breaks up with Henry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING. THERES A NONCON SCENE IN HERE.

Clive sighed as Henry kept his arms around his shoulders. Skipping gym to go have weirdly passionate sex with his sort of boyfriend felt like a strange turn of events for him. He didn't really care, back resting against Henry's headboard as he rode Clive like a public school bus. Twice a day, every day. They'd done it so much that they were starting to learn more about each other's bodies than … _each other._ "Mh- Clive- hhah~" Henry moaned, and Clive bucked his hips up. Henry felt so good, he was so, "Fuck - Lukey-" He moaned …

… hold up-

What?

everything seemed to stop for a second. The creaking bed went quiet, and so did Clive's mind as he tried to process what the fuck just came out of his mouth … 

"Um … who?" Henry asked, and Clive shook his head, "Nothing- it- uh .." he rasped out, voice weak from shock. He looked like he'd been to hell and back, which was sort of true by now. What did he just say? What on earth did he just say? Where did that even come from?! 

"Lukey … that's what you call your little roommate right? Lukey ..." Henry said, getting a hesitant not from Clive. Yeah, that was what he called him. It was mostly what Desmond called him, but Clive found the nickname to be cute so he'd been saying it more lately. "It's really nothing I- I just-" he said, trying to escape this situation. "Just what? Just moan your roommate's name during sex all the time? Were you thinking about him?"

"It's not your business! No, I wasn't." 

"So it was just an accident?"

"If you wanna stop then we can- it's not like you're getting anything out of this anymore" Clive said, face completely red as he looked away. Henry kissed his cheek, "I don't wanna stop ... You don't have to hide anything from me-" Henry said, sliding himself up. Clive shuddered as he went back down, "I'm - not hiding anything-" He panted, barely able to keep it together. How was he supposed to think about Luke and have sex at his normal expected pace at the same time? He couldn't, he  _ shouldn't. _ "If thinking about him gets you this turned on then you should be dating him instead of me." Henry said. He sounded hurt, but in reality he was just telling the truth, and didn't care much either way.

"I- that's such a twisted thing to say-" Clive hissed, not even wanting to consider it.

"Well you're the one moaning his name- how do you think I feel?" 

"I- … it's really not like that!" Clive said, wrists stuck in Henry's grasp by now. Henry didn't say anything, just continued to move, kissing at Clive's neck, letting out the occasional moan as his headboard lightly thumped the wall. Clive looked like he was holding something in, and all of a sudden he stopped Henry, "Wait - wait let's break or something-" 

"You can't stop thinking about him now, can you?"

"That's not it! I just- i'm not in the mood anymore-"

"Not in the mood? that's preposterous! You are rock hard and throbbing!" 

"That doesn't mean anything-!"

Henry huffed, grinding his hips down. "I don't care if you're thinking about him. Do whatever you want, i'm not judging …" He said, and Clive looked up at him. He had the most innocently confused expression, Henry quit moving, feeling like Clive really didn't understand what was going on anymore. He spoke softer than Henry had ever heard him speak, saying, "But it's wrong …" before covering his face, "You have no idea what I did- I'm sick-" Clive whined. 

"What did you do?"

"I-" The moment Clive thought about it, he twitched painfully hard, hissing at the sensation. Remembering Luke's smell knocked his body all the way back to its factory settings. Years of being a slut, gone, suddenly he was a hypersensitive virgin who knew nothing, and Henry was  _ still moving. _

Clive buried his head in his chest, and Henry mistook that as an embrace, instead of him trying to hide his embarrassment at what was about to happen. Clive moaned, shuddering as he came, his lower half straining to release all that it had built up. It shot it all out, but Henry kept moving, "ah- he really gets you going huh?" He asked, flinching at the response he got.

"S-stop! Henry-!" Clive said, arms wrapped around him. "I didn't even get to finish- you can go for longer than that, can't you?" 

"I can't! That's why I didn't wanna start thinking about him but you wouldn't shut the fuck up!"

"Hey- Calm down. You're not gonna die over this so quit yelling …" Henry said, and Clive kept his head down, "I can't keep going- it feels- it's too much-" he said. And Henry moved off of him, disconnecting, cringing at the feeling of liquid pouring out. "So you wanna stop?" He asked, and Clive nodded. 

"... Hey- Don't feel bad- but just for the record we should break up." 

"Wha? Why-?"

"Because you'd be way happier with him, and I don't wanna get my hopes up for something that's not gonna happen." Henry said. Clive … didn't know why that hurt to hear. He didn't even like Henry, right? Oh fuck did he start liking Henry at some point? He sighed, he really wanted to just- punch something … "yeah …" he said. He had to agree with him, it was probably for the better. God, this was so  _ embarrassing _ , at least Henry wouldn't tell anyone, unless he wanted to out himself as one of the many people who'd been fucked by Clive. 

… wait- "Fuck now he's ruining my fucking sex life i'm gonna strangle him!" Clive yelled in a sudden fit of rage. He calmed down when Henry brushed his hand between his legs, going red as he tried to not suddenly moan, "a- s-stop!" He whined, laying back as he received a very overstimulating handjob. "you need to calm down- it's not  _ his  _ fault that  _ you're  _ attracted to him." Henry said, nuzzling Clive as he stroked him. Clive didn't say anything, he looked like he wasn't even listening, mouth hanging open. Henry squeezed him a little, and he bit his lip, tensing his whole body up. "you need to go to bed or something- you're tired, I can tell …" Henry said. Clive looked away, "I can't sleep unless it's with him-" he said, biting his lip as Henry sped up his strokes. "Dude hh stop - it's starting to hurt-" Clive said, completely melting into a puddle as Henry kissed him. There was only one thing that got Clive off like Luke did, and it sas Henry's kisses. He didn't know why, but locking tongues with this guy made his heart pound. He bit down on his lip as he came, clenching his eyes shut, images of Luke flashing through his brain. Luke's cute pajamas, his stomach, his hips, his legs, all just breakfast lunch and dinner for Clive, a constantly hungry food addict. Though, he was feeling pretty full right now, having painted himself in a thin white layer of cum. He was in a daze, feeling Henry guide his hand to his own need,

"come on~ my turn~" 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


The gym floor squeaked with the shoes of cheerleaders who danced in sync. They'd finally gotten their gym back, they could finally practice … though, Clive refused to even look up from his phone right now, staring at the messages he'd sent Henry. It was the only thing he had to remember him by, besides the lingering sensation of his touch on his skin. Clive was quiet, he wished he could be attracted to anyone who wasn't Luke. Watching him dance didn't make it any better, he was getting pretty good at it. He was such a talented boy, so smart too, he'd learned the material from Clive's classes, and was passing his own with vibrant hues … and that meant they'd be competing for the best grades in the school. So now, not only was Luke fucking up his sex life, but pretty soon they were going to be rivals. 

"Are you actually upset Henry broke up with you?" Desmond said, leaned over on Clive's shoulder. He was wearing a really baggy coat today, but he looked really warm. Clive opted to just wear the regular uniform, the cold helped him stay focused on things that weren't Luke. " No" was the response Dez got, but he knew otherwise. " You're really caught up with this whole thing- I don't get why you don't just ask Lukey out, I mean, you know how to behave- what's stopping you?"

"He's gonna say no … and that's not a thought, I  _ Know  _ he doesn't like me back. Clive said. Dez sighed … "well- sleeping around isn't gonna make you feel better." 

"There isn't anything I can do besides that- and it's a nice distraction-" Clive said, truly not knowing what else to do.

"Well- Have you figured out what you want?" 

" …" Clive put his phone down, "I don't know what I want, but I know that I  _ dont  _ want whatever we have to go away ..." He said … it was hard to think like that and then sleep next to Luke, and not feel any weird urges. It was easy to not act on them, most of the time, but it was hard to even have them in the first place. Desmond pushed his glasses up, looking over at Luke, who was being taught how to shuffle … " sucks for you- hey- Alfendi wants to smoke later, you coming?" 

" … Hm-" 

"Well now that you're single, you might as well try him, right?" 

"He- he's an asshole! I thought we agreed on this??" Clive said.

"Don't worry, I'll be there- so you have nothing to worry about!" Dez said, and Clive shook his head, "no- what the fuck? do you talk to him or something?" Clive asked, and Dez shrugged, "He apologized so I just … I didn't wanna be mean if he was really sorry, you know?" He said. Clive shook his head and sighed … "okay-" he said. Fuck it, why not? Free weed.

He looked down at Luke, hoping this would all be for the better. If not, then he was gonna be extremely angry.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


… 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Clive sighed, stuck in Alfendi's room. Dez didn't even show up, and now he was here alone, striking a lighter as Alfendi took out a bag of candy from his drawer. He wasn't wearing his lab coat, instead just a striped sweater and some out of uniform pants ... Their smell was strong, and he tossed it at Clive, who just stared, wondering what the fuck they were ... "I can't have you smoking so I made these-" Alfendi said. Clive had been sitting at the edge of his bed, in complete silence as he tried not to be rude and get up to leave. He looked down at the bag, and picked it up … "whatever- do you know when Dez is coming?" Clive said, taking out a jelly bean. 

Alfendi didn't reply, watching him eat for a second … he shrugged, "Eh~ he's probably caught up with Luke right~?" 

"Yeah but- he said he'd be here- and it's just weird being around you, full offense." 

"Why's that?" 

Clive shrugged, shoveling fruity tasting jelly beans into his mouth, " I just don't like you." He said. Alfendi nodded, "that's fair-" he said, picking up the lighter from his dresser. He walked over to his bed, sitting next to Clive as he put a little rolled up something to his lips. "How'd you do on the quiz?" He asked, and Clive sighed, "I got an A, are you happy? Are you proud?" He said. Alfendi smiled, "yeah- I  _ am  _ proud." He replied, inhaling the smoke from the joint he'd rolled. It was dry, he ended up in a coughing fit almost immediately, exhaling smoke from his nose in the process. Clive blushed a little, looking away, "Whatever-" he mumbled, " if Dez doesn't show up then I'm leaving-"

"Well you can leave if you want, I won't stop you- but i mean … you should stay." Alfendi said, and Clive tilted his head. " Why are you always trying to get me alone? It's creepy-" he said, and Alfendi shrugged, taking another hit. 

Clive watched him smoke … damn, he- didn't really wanna go home and face Luke right now. Maybe he should stay? "... You know- you'd be alright if you weren't always acting like you know everything." Clive said, sitting up. "Oh? So i'm not that bad?" 

"I guess not- i just don't want it to be awkward anymore-" 

"So you're staying?"

"More like i'm avoiding going home …" Clive sighed, and Alfendi nodded … it was quiet, somehow it was even more awkward than it was before. " Have you gone to the dentist yet?" Alfendi asked, and Clive shook his head. 

"You really need to go-" 

"No."

"Why not? Are you that afraid of doctors?"

"... I-" Clive took in a deep breath, "They're going to make me get braces …" he said. Alfendi just looked at him, and smiled, "you need braces  _ and  _ you need glasses?" 

"No! I don't  _ need  _ braces- and i don't  _ need _ glasses- it's an option- and I refuse." Clive said, not getting a response … Alfendi reached over, grabbing his face, "You're such a brat-" he looked into the other's mouth, seeing that he had a single tooth that was kicked in. Clive didn't bother responding, stuffing more jelly beans in his mouth, " I brush my teeth, I'll be fine." He said, wincing as Alfendi squeezed his jaw. 

It was a little unexpected, and he was immediately pissed off by it," It still hurts though!" He said, going still as the wavy haired stoner leaned down, kissing his jaw. 

"... Alf-" Clive went quiet as lips pressed against his own.  _ Jesus christ. _ He pushed, no,  _ shoved  _ Alfendi, sending him back a few feet and …  _ wait -that kiss felt familiar _ . 

The way he swiped his tongue across Clive's, pushed the surface of his lips almost directly against the others to where they were matching, and opened his mouth, making Clive do the same. How quickly he did it, how smooth it was, how natural- 

"I-  _ Henry? _ " Clive said, knocking the bag of Jelly beans onto the ground as Alfendi moved over him. "Hm?" 

"You- you kiss like Henry-" 

"Nah- it's  _ Henry _ that kisses like  _ me- _ I  _ taught _ him to do that-" Alfendi said, leaning down towards Clive, who was suddenly more calm about this whole thing. The way Alfendi went for his neck, pressing his lips against the skin in the exact same places, hand gliding down his body the same way. Clive's mind clouded for a second, wait, he was so confused. Does he like this? No, it's Alfendi- on top of him, touching him, licking his ear, groaning as he slid his hips between Clive's legs. Alfendi was hard, no, "stop-!" Clive pushed at him, snapping out of it. Alfendi didn't move that time, " I think it's cute, you get weak when you're really scared-" 

"Scared? I'm fucking disgusted!" 

"Then push me away-" Alfendi said, biting at Clive's ear. Clive turned his head, trying to avoid that disgusting mouth as he pushed, and pushed, and pushed … but nothing happened. He was desperately shoving his hands against Alfendi's chest, twisting his body, kicking his legs out before Alfendi pushed his hips up, brushing across Clive. 

By now Clive fully understood where this was going, but he didn't know what to do. Alfendi lifted his head, so he took the chance to throw a punch. He was happy when it actually landed, and Alfendi was sent back a few inches before grabbing Clive's wrists, and shoving them down above his head. Clive was filled with instant regret as the other hand reached down, Shoving itself into his boxers. "you should be wearing a belt, it's the school uniform-" 

"Don't touch me!" 

"What are you gonna do about it? Nothing. You have no problem just laying there and enjoying it every other time so why not now?" 

"Because I don't want this! That's not hard to understa-!" Clive clenched his teeth as he was slapped … It was a confusing feeling, he sat there in silence, his jaw really hurt, his pants were suddenly too tight and he felt overwhelmingly small. He really wasn't gonna get out of this, Alfendi wasn't even listening, he was completely focused on Clive's body. "Let me go-" Clive said, trying his best to sound stern as he began losing his breath. He didn't get a response, instead, just a really harsh bite to the neck. "S- nng-" he stopped clenching his teeth, it hurt, so he balled his fists up together instead as He was freed from his clothing, his precum being used as lube while he got the handjob of a century. The soothing way that Henry touched him, the little things he whispered, the way he handled Clive's length, all of it was just … Alfendi. 

The illusion shattered, and Clive wanted to cry. Alfendi had ruined the only thing he thought was going good for him, and now he was arched back, cumming into his hand against his will. He was much too weak to move, laying there panting as … the edibles he ate began to kick in. Though it wasn't his usual high, he went nearly limp, barely awake as he heard Alfendi chuckle. "Good boy- just lay there- enjoy it-" he said, starting to undress Clive, who shakily moved his arms, only able to shake his head as he whimpered out what vaguely sounded like a no. Off with his shoes, and then his pants, and then his bulky blazer. Off with his underwear, his tie, his shirt, everything, until he was naked, being picked up, and laid down further up on Alfendi's bed. "shh-" the now psychotic looking red-head said, and Clive stared up at him in horror, not knowing what … or how- or when. 

He broke then, starting to cry as Alfendi licked his fingers. He knew what came next and he didn't want it, arms trembling as he lifted them to hide his face. They gave out to fatigue as the fingers pushed inside of him, stretching him out almost immediately, making him break up into sobs. He knew Alfendi wanted to fuck him, but he didn't know the guy was willing to go this far. To fully violate him like this to get what he wanted. Dez probably didn't know, Alfendi probably gave him some sob story about just wanting to apologise or something. Manipulative prick. His fingers were going deeper, forcing Clive's body to respond as he milked his prostate, completely wrecking it as he thrusted his hand in and out. Clive's whole body shook, but he didn't dare make a single sound, he wouldn't dare give Alfendi the pleasure of hearing him moan, even if he could barely think right now. Clive screamed, once again, getting slapped for it, sending him right back into a sobbing fit as he breathed. 

Alfendi pulled his fingers out, and Clive laid there, breath hitching as he started to hiccup. He couldn't help it, he felt like he was going to vomit, and he almost did when he saw Alfendi undoing his pants. "n-no- !" He whined, reaching out, just barely able to sit up. He was pushed back down, " Be. Still." Alfendi sternly said. "No!" Clive yelled back, still trying to get up. He moved his legs, doing anything he could to keep Alfendi away as his tip pressed up against his gateway to hell. .

" Deep breaths Dove~" 

Clive looked away, unable to believe his dirty moan as it slipped in. Alfendi wasn't as big as he was, but he wasn't … small. His stomach twisted at the sound of Alfendi calling him tight, cursing under his breath, all while working that disgusting appendage inside of his body. Clive, didn't last too long, cumming, hissing, crying. 

"You like being dominated like this, don't you? I don't think a normal person would be so turned on-" Alfendi said, and Clive denied it, shaking his head as he sucked in air through his teeth. Somehow he ended up putting his arms around Alfendi's shoulders, his hips in the other's hands as his body was turned into nothing but a hole. Each movement made his head hurt, and usually in moments of extreme stress, he'd have Desmond to hug … but Desmond wasn't here. Clive held his breath as he was kissed again, "Mh- I know you don't believe it but I love you, i really do-" Alfendi said, starting to slam his hips forward now. Clive's expression was cold, he glared violently into space as he held on tight. He didn't know … what he'd do after this. He didn't know what emotion he was feeling right now, he just wanted it to stop. His back ached, slimy with the sensation of Alfendi's pre, he bit his lip, feeling a sudden sensation of shame as a tongue lapped across his neck, and it felt good. He still didn't want it, but it felt good, and now he was crying again, into Alfendi's shoulder before being shoved down against the bed. Hands held him down by his arms as he was pounded, the loud sound of their skin slapping filling his ears. 

Clive cracked his mouth open, violently thrashing his body with all of his will until he ended up on his side, his leg in Alfendi's arms as he was thrusted into even harder. He drooled, being still, receiving an affectionate groan as Alfendi thrusted his hips just a few more times, throwing his head back as he came … 

He looked like he felt really good, using Clive's body like that. "Oh Clive you're so good- all this wasted potential-" he said, arching over him as he continued to thrust. He leaned down to kiss Clive, but Clive refused, turning his head every single time their lips got anywhere Close to touching. Alfendi eventually got frustrated, grabbing his face, forcing him to accept his kisses. The two spread saliva all over each other in the struggle, and Alfendi stopped, pulling away to still hear Clive crying. 

It was a pretty sight to see, him twitching around, no longer erect, sobbing his eyes out as he fearfully kept his hands to himself, hiding his face. "You're cute …" Alfendi grinned, and Clive choked, coughing violently as he was rolled over onto his stomach. Alfendi began thrusting, and Clive held his face against his pillow, being forced to take in his scent. He wasn't stopping, not going easy either, as he slapped his hand across Clive's ass, "You can be louder than that- i wanna hear those noises~" 

"Sick- fuck!" 

He was smacked again, trembling as he let little gasps and choked noises escape. Alfendi continued squeezing him, groping him, rubbing him in every place he could as Clive dripped from within. He was starting to lose consciousness, and pretty soon he was knocked out …

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Clive laid there next to Alfendi, barely awake, stoned out of his mind. He'd been forced to take a bunch of edibles, and sleeping pills. He was only awake right now because he'd been woken up with violent shaking after he apparently started to throw up. He was leaking, body limp as Alfendi kissed his shoulder. "I'm making you an appointment to go to the dentist- and You need to keep your grades up- okay?" He said. Clive … wondered- what that had to do with this. Why was he mentioning that, what was his problem? He was rubbing Clive's side, tracing the subtle curve of his body. Clive felt like … a girl. 

He felt like Alfendi saw him as a woman or something, and that's why he was doing this, because he had some fucked up mother issues. The way he spoke to Clive, in that disgustingly, deceivingly calm voice. No, just no. 

"Are you listening?" 

"... Yeah" Clive mumbled. He could barely think, seeing millions of colors all at once. The sensation of Alfendi next to him felt … like … something out of a horror movie. Everything around him seemed to be breathing, the walls were breathing and so was the floor and furniture. Everything moved, all in sync, yet he remained still … stagnant, a rock in the river of Alfendi's graze, being rolled over, washed over, and eventually worn down into nothing. 

Who was he kidding? He was nothing at this point … 

The door opened, and Clive was quiet, hearing Desmond come in, and immediately drop his bag. He stared for a second, Clive, face red from being slapped around, nude in a position he'd never be in, drugged beyond desire. Then there was Alfendi, fully clothed, laying there with Clive in his arms … 

The next thing Clive felt was Alfendi getting pulled off of the bed. In full shock at Desmond's strength. He hit the ground with a loud thud, and Clive … was relieved. Desmond ...

Yes, he was, in fact, strong as hell. Clive wasn't anywhere near as strong as he was, honestly- his real motivation for working out was so that he could get on Desmond's level. His best friend, strong protector, emotional support. Clive felt tears coming from his eyes, he couldn't move, he was too tired, feeling the room shake with the weight of Alfendi being repeatedly slammed against the floor. 

"What the  _ FUCK ?!" _ Dez yelled, Glasses somewhere on the floor as he held Alfendi by his hair. Alfendi was on his stomach, eye swollen and black as Desmond continued beating the actual life out of him. Things didn't get serious until he took Clive's knife out of his pocket, seriously contemplating killing him ... He yanked the locks of hair on Alfendi's head back, and began sawing through them, slicing off the ponytail that Alfendi loved so much. 

He tossed it at him, and got up, shoving the knife back into his pocket. He wanted to do more- to put his hands around his neck and strangle him ... but he didn't wanna go to jail. He felt like that was good enough for now, "Clive-?" He asked, rushing to the other side of the bed. "... Dude-" Clive mumbled, not even in this reality anymore, and Dez smiled, knowing he'd be alright. He looked around, "You have to put something on- can you move?" 

"... Dude-"

"Clive?" 

"He-" Clive glared at the floor, and Dez frowned, "Come on man, don't cry- can you get up?" 

"Nnnn-" Clive whimpered, and Dez could see that it was a very sore question … he nodded, and picked Clive's blazer up, sitting him up and helping him into it. He could barely even sit upright, groaning in pain and probably a really trippy confusion while Dez forced his clothes on. "I'm sorry- I'm so sorry- I swear to god I didn't know- I'm sorry I made you come here- you were right- he's an asshole, You'll never have to see him again, I'll make sure of it." Desmond said, picking Clive up. 

Clive barely responded, feeling sick … "Dez-" He mumbled, "glasses-" he said, and Dez shook his head. "No time for that- we gotta get you home- you need a bath- and Something to eat. You don't have to go to school tomorrow if you don't want to either-" 

"Mn-" Clive sounded like he was trying to say something, but he just couldn't make the words come out.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


… 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Clive sat in the tub, the shower running over him as he leaned against the wall. After an eventful day of  _ Scraping It Out _ he … didn't go to school. Luke refused to go to school too, but Clive really didn't wanna see him right now. He'd realized … that he wasn't as bad of a person as he got on himself for being. Sure, the other day he'd jerked off sniffing Luke's underwear, but he washed and returned them a.s.a.p. that didn't necessarily make it better, but the point was … he couldn't ever do something like this to another person. For him, stop meant stop, go meant go, yes meant yes and no meant fucking  **No.** He was happy … happy that he wasn't that kind of person. He was thankful that he'd never made anyone feel this way, he'd never physically hurt anyone to this extent. He realized he still had things wrong with him, but  _ thank god _ he wasn't this bad ...

… but he was still dirty on the outside, and it didn't seem like he'd ever be clean.

The door opened, and Clive barely responded, "out-" he mumbled, tensing up as a hand touched his shoulder. "Cwive- you've been in there all day- I'm sleepy- i need you …" Luke said, used to seeing him naked at this point. Clive didn't reply, hoping Luke would just go away on his own. He leaned up against the wall, feeling Luke tugging at his arm, "what's wrong?" He asked, genuinely concerned. This wasn't like Clive at all, something really bad must have happened. 

He was ignored once again … Luke looked down, and picked up a rag, grabbing his own sweet smelling soap. Was Clive taking a bath? Did he need help? Was he upset because he couldn't do it alone? 

That's what Luke figured, so he pushed the cloth up against Clive's arm, hoping it would make him come out. Maybe if Luke did it for him then he'd be happy again, and he'd come to bed … Clive still didn't move, but he was looking down now, seemingly thinking about something.

Did that mean it was working? 

"S-stop-" Clive said, brushing Luke's hand away. "I'm coming out- just- give me a second-" Clive said, letting the water rinse the soap off. 

Luke walked out of the bathroom, leaving Clive alone, shutting the door. He wondered what happened to make him like that … he sat down on Clive's bed, brushing his hand across the pillow. 

Clive came out about ten minutes later, his hair sloppily dried with a towel. "You didn't have to stay home-" Clive said, watching Luke get underneath his blanket. "Why would I leave you alone when you don't feel good? That's not what friends do …" Luke said. Clive smiled, laying down next to him on top of the blanket, "I can't believe you still want to be friends." He said. Luke looked off in the distance for a second … before moving closer, wrapping his arms around Clive, " It would be nice …" he said, laying his head on Clive's chest. 

"Alright- fine then- we can be friends-"

"Really?"

"Mm" Clive nodded, wrapping one of his arms around him. Luke seemed so happy, but sleepy at the same time. " You mean it?" You're not trying to trick me right?" Luke asked, eyes closed. Clive hummed, "If you keep asking i'm gonna change my mind-" he mumbled. Luke took that as him saying he meant it, and stayed close, hoping Clive really wasn't just messing with him again. 

"What happened?" Luke asked, and Clive … sighed, "I- um … I got in a fight again-" he said. 

"Did you win?"

"no … but I'm not gonna lose again …" Clive said, suddenly his mood changed. He was done being sad, now felt like the right time to be angry. " Yea! They shouldn't have messed with you-" Luke yawned, "Big mistake-" he huffed. 

That was so cute- Clive just sighed, thankful he had Luke in his life. He felt infinitely better right now. He was still upset, and he didn't know how he'd feel when he left the room, but right now he happy. 


	14. At Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke and Clive spend the day at home.

Luke watched as Clive pressed away at the buttons on his controller. He was wrapped up in his blankets, sitting in a chair he'd bought, playing through the same game for what felt like the hundredth time now … Luke sat on the bed behind him, watching him slay monsters. It was a single player game, one with a weirdly dark atmosphere. The game was quiet, and most of the music happened during boss battles. A huge chunk of the game also seemed to be just … traveling the world. Clive really looked like he enjoyed that, just walking around the world on his horse's back. He took his time moving, occasionally unsheathing a sword to cast a beam of light in the direction he wanted to go … 

"Where are you going now?" Luke asked, and Clive was quiet … "i have to go fight the big one- with the- uh- the one that looks like a human- the one in the dress" Clive said, referencing Luke's past statement that the last Colossus seemed to be wearing a dress. "oh- but you're going the wrong way!" Luke exclaimed. Clive nodded, "I'm just exploring the world- it's a big place- I just like walking around in it …" Clive had his eyes glued to the screen. It seemed like he hadn't slept much, he seemed discouraged to do anything but play games, and have Dez bring him his homework. Even then, the papers were starting to pile up … 

"But you're all alone!" Luke said, and Clive shook his head, "I've got Aggro - but - that's the point, that you're alone … it's nice to be alone sometimes-" Clive said, standing beside a massive waterfall. The sound was so soothing, he didn't intend on staying there forever, he just wanted to stay for right now …

"Do you wanna be alone?" Luke asked, and Clive shrugged, "most of the time yeah-" he said. 

"Should I leave?"

"No-? Why?"

"Well you can't be alone if I'm here-" Luke said. Clive turned away from the game, and looked at Luke, who seemed 200% serious. " … We - can be alone together. You're sort of like my Aggro- it's just the two of us." He sighed, turning back to the screen. Luke thought about that for a moment. Just the two of them? That sort of made it sound like they were meant to be together or something. He liked the way it sounded, just the two of them. Alone together … 

"What are you smiling at?" Clive asked, getting nothing but a little snort from Luke, who laid down on his bed, "nothing~" he said. "Does that mean we're best friends?" He looked Clive right in the eyes, seemingly overflowing with hope as he laid there … Clive didn't wanna tell him something that wasn't true, but Luke looked like he was hoping for something specific. " Well … we can be- I guess-" He said, looking at his screen. He pressed the home button on his controller, and turned his console off. " Even if I stay here, You should go to school. It's bad for you to miss so many days in a row." He stretched, the blankets fell off to reveal he was just wearing a hoodie and some briefs. His back ached, and he went still, immediately feeling everything hit him at once again. It all hurt so much, every single aspect was an open wound in a world of salt. 

"I already asked my teachers if I could stay home to help you and they said i'm not even supposed to go to school without you!" 

"What? It's like they want us together  _ all the time _ or something- they just keep making new rules up …" 

"It's because a boy went missing- and ten people have been expelled-" Luke said. Clive didn't know anything about that, he couldn't believe so many people had been removed already. He hoped it wasn't for anything too bad … "that's horrible" he said, and Luke nodded, "so it's dangerous to go without you." Luke said. 

Clive leaned back in his chair … he looked at the blank screen, at the bruise on his neck … "you know what? I think you're right- it  _ is  _ dangerous if we aren't together." He said, figuring that nothing like that could ever happen again if Luke was always around him. That meant he'd be using Luke as a human shield, fending off those that were hungry for him. School had been slowly pushing them together, "why not stay together all the time? We already have to go to the same classes, same buildings- same house- same everything. So let's just stay close all the time."

"For safety?"

"Yeah … and- because I mean, you don't wanna be alone right?" Clive asked, getting a nod from Luke. Good, so that was settled. "We should probably go to the store soon- we're running out of stuff to eat." Clive said, and Luke hummed … "is there a grocery store here?" He asked, and Clive nodded. "Yeah- this place is an actual town. It's just that all the citizens are students." 

"I thought it was weird that the school was named Poyel  _ City  _ Academy-" Luke said. Clive nodded, "It's named after the guardian angel of December- every december we throw a party in one of the four corners … oh- wait do you know about all of that?" Clive asked, and Luke nodded. "Yeah! Dahlia told me about the parties and the one in the middle- so the next party will be in December?" He asked, and Clive nodded. " But we might have a halloween party before that- It all depends." 

"On what?"

"On who throws the party. See, the rich here are a minority- we're the ones setting up the parties and things but there's only a few of us-" 

"Really? I was starting to think Everyone here was rich-" Luke huffed.

"Well they're at least upper middle class if they can afford this place."

"I'm dirt poor, Clive. I got here because my parents hit a jackpot …" 

"...  _ Wait whaaat? _ " Clive said. With how huge Luke's bag was, Clive had figured Luke was pretty wealthy. Such a collection of stuffed animals and things, and clothes, or …  _ aw, they spent all their money on him! _

"They only have a little left, it's for college when I'm done with school here-" Luke said. Clive sighed, "why didn't you tell me? I could have been helping this whole time-!"

"Because we don't need your help- and I don't want you thinking i'm some homeless kid just because i'm poor- We were fine before I met you and we'll be fine when you're gone." Luke crossed his arms … he seemed more like he didn't want to be looked down on. Clive could understand that, honestly, he could. "Well if you say so … " he scratched his neck. Luke seemed to be in a bad mood now, Clive hoped he hadn't said anything wrong by offering. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Clive walked alongside Luke, throwing things into a basket in his off hand as he roamed the little mini market. " Ooh- Clive look!" Luke said, pointing to a newly refilled bin of stuffed frogs. He was sticking his hand on them, proclaiming that they were soft. Clive walked over, Luke was wearing a skirt again, and a puffy black sweater. He had Clive's massive red scarf around his neck, and some white boots with black stockings. Ever since the first time he wore a skirt, it seemed like he wanted to wear other kinds of clothes. Clive had gotten it for him, despite his request not to … but honestly, Luke was cute when he was happy. That's all Clive wanted to see right about now, him smiling, flaunting his new clothes. 

" Do you want one?" Clive asked, approaching the side of the bin. Luke turned, giving him a sparkly eyed look … he looked down, blushing, seemingly struggling to make up his mind. "N-no-" Luke said, and Clive tilted his head a little. "You sure?"

"No-"

"No you're not sure?"

"Mm-" Luke looked so antsy, he clearly wanted it, he just didn't wanna have to ask for it. Clive picked up one of the little round green creatures. It was plush, soft and squishy, "I don't! I don't need it-" Luke whined. The thing was as big as a dinner plate … it'd look cute in the small boy's arms. Clive smiled, "yeah- but you want it right?" He said. Luke … hesitantly nodded, quietly shuffling around. Clive handed it to him, "I'm only buying it because it makes you look a little less gross." He said. Heart melting as Luke held onto it … 

His eyes were really dilated, he looked like he was so in love, following behind Clive as he hugged the round frog cushion close. " Clive …" He said, and Clive turned, seeing Luke stopped at another bin … 

"You want that one too?" 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Luke stood up at the stove, chopping up tomatoes for burritos. Clive was on Luke's bed, laying in a mountain of stuffed animals. He didn't expect to get so many, but now that he had gotten them, he didn't really regret it. He'd gotten one for himself, a little black bear with beady eyes. Clive thought, "oh- that one looks like a cool guy." And indeed, Chester was a cool guy. That's what he'd named him, and he'd been playing with the little purple bowtie ever since. "Clive- do you eat onions?" Luke asked, and Clive nodded. 

Luke thought he looked rather silly laying there, but he couldn't be in a better mood. He now had an army of new friends, plus one big real one. This was the happiest he'd been since he got here, stirring the pan of frying beef as he let onions gently trickle into it. It all smelled really good … Clive wished he could eat now, he was really hungry, but he'd just have to wait until Luke was done cooking. 

"Clive- Can Flora come over tomorrow?" Luke asked, and Clive shrugged, "whatever." He said, not understanding that the only reason Luke had even asked was because he told him not to have anyone over. Luke nodded, "we're gonna practice our routine-! There's a game coming up soon." 

"What game?" 

"Football-!" 

"... When you say football- do you mean football football- or American football?" 

"Um- I mean football football-" 

" … Cool-" Clive said, well, he for sure wasn't going to that. 

"Are you gonna come watch us? We worked really hard and I really want you to be there!" Luke said. 

Well, he for sure was going to see that. 

But he didn't really want to be anywhere near Henry or anything having to do with Henry right now … what a waste of time, thinking about this. Of course he was gonna go, for Luke. "Sure-" he said, and Luke beamed … 

"Hey- Luke-" Clive asked, starting to realize something very, very important. Sure they were together, and they spent all their time together, but … what the hell does Clive know about Luke? Nothing, nothing that wasn't about him puking or, Something obvious like that. In fact, Luke probably knew a hell of a lot more about him than the other way around.

"Hm?" Luke asked, turning the stove off. 

"What's your favorite color?" Clive asked, and Luke hummed, "I don't know actually. I just really like light colors and stuff like that-" 

"So- pastels?" 

"Mmhmm- but I like the color of your bed! I thought it was black but it's actually just dark blue- it's like two different colors at once! That's so cool-" Luke said. "But you shouldn't keep your tools in your bed- I got poked with a screwdriver last night …" he finished wrapping up one big burrito, setting it down on a paper plate. He used the rest to make his own, there was still a lot of material left so he ended up with a sizable burrito too. "Sorry about that-" Clive sighed. 

"Why do you have that stuff anyway?" 

"Oh I … well-" Clive sighed, "Okay- don't tell anyone but I actually do robotics …" 

"You do?" 

"Yeah- but it's all nerd stuff." 

"... Have you been going? You're always with me-"

"It hasn't started this year because of the change, but i'm planning on it" Clive said, feeling Luke tap his back. He sat up, and Luke set a plate down, sitting next to him with just his bare burrito in his hands. "Oh- does that mean you were making something without your club?" He asked, and Clive shook his head, watching Luke eat … what a hamster face. "i was just messing with stuff-" Clive said, picking up his wrap. As soon as he bit into it, his mouth exploded with a burst of flavor. The savory meat, sweet tomatoes, hot spices. 

"Does it taste good?" Luke asked, getting an immediate nod. It tasted like … comfort. Pure comfort. Luke smiled, and Clive continued to eat in silence, wondering how Luke could pack something so simple with so much flavor. He stood, and walked over to his own bed, not wanting to get anything on Luke's fluffy buddies. 

" Yesterday, Flora texted me and said she got a girlfriend … you'll never guess who it is." Luke said. 

Oh, what was this, drama time? 

"Is it Lili?" 

"Nope! It's someone older than her-" 

"... Hm-" Clive didn't really know a lot of girls his own age. "One of the cheerleaders?" He asked, and Luke hummed … "yeah-" he said. "but which one?" He asked. 

Clive thought for a second, he really had no idea. "Amber?"

"Nope-"

"Jane-"

"No…" 

"Cory?"

"C-Clive why do you know their names?" Luke asked, getting slightly worried for some reason. Clive gave him an innocent look, "I'm around them every day, of course I know their names." He said. 

"But- you took two days to remember mine!" Luke huffed. He suddenly felt a little underappreciated. Was it just because he wasn't pretty or something? How shallow. " Well that's because I didn't like you when I met you-" Clive said. Luke just angrily continued to eat, "but now that I do all your chores, you like me- right?" He said. 

"Aw~ don't be that way-" 

"Well? Why the sudden change huh?" 

" Because … you aren't that bad when you're not whining-" Clive said. Luke hummed suspiciously, and Clive couldn't help but keep a smile at his behavior. Cute, he was just so cute. "But yea I guess that's part of it if I have to be honest.." He said, knowing full well Luke knew it. Clive looked down, Luke sat with his legs open like every other boy, even in a skirt. His socks only went up to his thighs, exposing a plush deposit of squishy thigh at the topz near his briefs, which were solid green today. A little alien was printed on the front, so cute, so cute …

"Lukey you should close your legs …" Clive said, watching Luke finish eating. He was wiping his hands on Clive's scarf in a little act of rebelliousness, before he looked down … " don't look-" he pulled his legs to the side. 

"I wasn't trying to~" 

Luke huffed, "I know we're both boys but I really don't like you staring at me there-!" 

"Well then keep your legs closed-" 

"Don't look!"

"Then keep your legs closed!" 

Somehow, they managed to get into an argument right after having such a nice moment. Luke was arguing that if Clive sees it then he should just look away and let Luke know, and that he was creepy for always staring for so long before he pointed out some weird detail like the color of his underwear. Clive argued that if Luke didn't want anyone to look he would cover it up and wear shorts underneath like everyone else does. 

Luke argued that he was just gay, and he'd probably look anyways. 

And that turned into a back and forth of "no, YOU'RE gay!" Like two middle school children who had yet to realize that no, you are both, in fact, gay. 

"I'm not the one who actually dated another boy, you're way more gay than I am!" Luke said. 

" First of all I'm bisexual! Second of all- you're the boy running around in short shorts with smooth legs! That's  _ Entirely _ gay!"

"No it's not! Most boys can't even grow hair on their legs so it's normal! You're just upset because you're weird and you get excited by it because you're GAY!" 

"I- shut up!"

Luke grinned, "aha! You admit it!" 

"And? What do you want- a cookie? To challenge me to a Gay-off? Go to bed Pukey-" Clive said, and Luke huffed, watching him finish off his burrito … 

Wait- did Clive just admit to getting excited while looking at Luke's legs? "Wait- you actually do? Pervert!" 

"Ughh what is it now?" 

"Why are you getting excited looking at my legs?! I thought you said I was ugly!" 

"Your big face stretched across your galaxy sized head is what's ugly- your legs are only below average-" Clive said. Luke blushed … "take that back-" he huffed, "My head isn't big." 

"Luke- your head has its own orbit … "

"That's such a lame joke-" 

"Your head weighs more than two trucks fu of weights with steel tires-" 

"..."

"Your head-"

"Alright already! I get it- my head is big! Your teeth are crooked!"

"Your face is fat-"

"You're mean!"

"You're gay-"

"YOU'RE gay!" 

Clive snorted, breaking up into chuckles. Messing with Luke was just too much fun. It was so easy to get him riled up, though, Clive should really stop if he wants Luke to not hate his guts for constantly calling his head big. " I bet everything seems big with such a tiny brain. Hmf" Luke said. He looked sleepy, "Yeah probably- you wanna go to bed?" He asked, and Luke nodded, getting up. "i have to take a bath- you need to take a bath too-" 

"You wanna take a bath with me?"

"No- dummy! You can take one after me-" 

Clive snickered, laying back on his bed as Luke pulled his clothes from his bag … getting ready to take a bath. He was pulling out his newly washed pajamas, probably about to go sit in a bubble bath and watch youtube. 

He watched Luke take a little blue rubber duck with him, and a strawberry print towel … everything he owned was just- so cute. 

Clive was blessed, to have him as a roommate … 

"Oh! You made me forget completely what I was saying!" Luke said, sticking his head out of the bathroom. Clive just tilted his head, not knowing what he meant. "Flora's girlfriend! Have you figured it out?" 

"Um … nope- I give up-" Clive said, and Luke smiled. "It's Dahlia! Isn't that nice? Theyre sisters and they're in love- it's like a fairy tale- it's so cute- Flora is always talking about Dahlia too- you can tell they really like eachother-" Luke went on and on. Clive just stared at him … 

Luke … is a siscon. 

And he seemed into it- really into it. Sisterly love, who would have guessed?

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


The sound of YouTube playing on the tv was very dim. Clive was still awake, Luke laid there unconscious, both of them propped up on the mountain of stuffed animals. Clive had hid arms around Luke's waist, chin resting on top of those chestnut locks of soft hair. "Mm-" Luke nuzzled Clive in his sleep, head shoved into his chest … so peaceful, so nice. Clive really wished he could stay like this forever, subtly rubbing luke's stomach … he was warm there, and he felt comfortable, shirt pulled up so Clive could stare. Luke had strangely rounded nipples, his chest looked a little plump … Clive was staring, thinking about- doing something he shouldn't. Would Luke mind if he just- had a taste? Just a little taste, Luke touched his chest while he slept so maybe … 

Clive was slowly leaning down, hesitantly sliding his nose underneath Luke's shirt like a dog to it's owner's hand. He opened his mouth, feeling immediate shame as he pressed his lips to the small, reddened rose bud … it was so soft. He brushed his face against them, so soft, so soft. So plush- He wrapped his arms around Luke's waist, kissing his chest. Clive could hear Luke's heartbeat, a steady thump against his ear, like a marching band of marshmallow babies. Luke mumbled something, feeling Clive give into his sick urges, and lick one of his nipples. 

He stopped, Luke had his legs squeezed shut, and he was arching away now, a discomforted look on his face. 

_ Aw- he felt it … _

Clive just wanted to touch him more … he needed to get Luke to like him already, this was pure torture. 

Today was a good day though, maybe he could win Luke over at school tomorrow somehow. If he started doing his own work then Luke would have less to do … but wouldn't he be bored in class? Plus Luke was really good at the material, Clive could honestly use a tutor. He sighed, thinking ... just thinking … life would be a lot easier if he knew what to do at times like this, when he had Luke in his arms, and things were good. 


	15. Admiration

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke wakes up in a weird position and Clive gets million of love letters.

Luke slowly opened his eyes, his vision lowering down to whatever was on his chest. He was a little overheated, panting softly as the discomforting feeling grew more apparent. Something was messing with his nipples, pulling on them … it felt wet, slippery. It was very uncomfortable, and it woke him up out of a deep sleep.

Luke absently reached down in an attempt to get the thing off his chest, hands coming into contact with a head of familiar spiky hair … his heartbeat began to increase, and his eyes flew open as he saw Clive dragging his tongue across his buds. He was licking them, pulling at them with his teeth-

He didn't know what to do, he froze up, and in a sudden burst of confusion he started crying, slapping Clive's head away from his chest. He hit him with as much force as his little arms could muster, dripping hot tears down his reddened cheeks. He didn't stop until Clive had pulled away, and even then he continued to hit him. He felt so- violated- so betrayed- so exposed. Luke stopped after a while of wailing on him … and pulled all the way away, covering himself up with the blanket as Clive sat there with a really tired, dumb look on his face. 

He seemed to panic for a second, but he didn't say anything, just looked at Luke … completely blank. It seemed to hit Clive all at once, just what he'd been doing this time. For the past few months, he'd been molesting his roommate in his sleep. He'd been undressing him, licking him, feeling him up. He'd been groping his roommate until he put himself to sleep, and every time- he got a little further. 

" W- .. why-?" Luke asked, wiping Clive's spit off of his chest.

Clive looked down, "I- i just .. I-" he didn't really have an explanation. He did it because he wanted to. He enjoyed it. He knew it was wrong, but he didn't care. "I'm sorry .." he said, and Luke shook his head, getting up, " i'm telling!" He yelled, running for the door. 

Luke didn't look back, and it didn't seem like he was being followed. He opened the door, but before he could leave, he was picked up off the ground, and held around his waist. 

"Luke- wait-" Clive said, but it didn't do him any good because as soon as he opened his mouth to speak, Luke vomited onto the floor. It poured out of him like a bucket of green, foamy slime, with the power to dissolve food. Luke coughed, and Clive looked down at the mess … he felt horrible, not only had been touching Luke, but now he made him throw up even after all this time of Luke saying he wasn't afraid. Clive had completely destroyed his trust, and ruined his relationship for good. 

He carried Luke back over to the bed, and sat down with him. Luke continued to cry, even as Clive wiped his face with a tissue from the box he kept beside his bed. He was quiet, guilt ridden. 

Meanwhile Luke was absolutely terrified. He had never been touched like that in his life, and he didn't know why on earth anybody would ever want to do something like that to him, especially while he was sleeping. He curled up in Clive's arms, quietly sniffling as Clive cleaned the puke from off of his face. It was strange how calm and safe he felt in his perpetrators arms. He didn't enjoy the feeling of safety that he got from Clive anymore, it felt fake, like at any time Clive was going to do something absolutely despicable to him.

It didn't happen though, Clive began slowly cradling Luke, he held him in his arms as if he was his own child, his own flesh and blood, which would certainly make this situation a lot more interesting if that was the case. Clive wasn't looking forward to having to talk about this later on. He wasn't going to enjoy the awkward conversation where he had to explain all the things he'd been doing and why. 

Seeing Luke cry like this really solidified his own self hatred, and he wondered if Luke would  _ ever  _ be the same. "Cwive- my stomach hurts!" Luke said, holding his stomach in his arms.

"I'm sorry- i didn't mean to make you throw up- i just- didn't want you to tell anyone …" 

"It hurts really bad- please put me down-" he whimpered. Clive laid Luke down against the bed, and hesitantly reached for his stomach, rubbing his hand across it. "I'm sorry …" he apologized again, unintentionally luling Luke to sleep as he rubbed him. Luke just laid there, slowly closing his eyes again. In just a few more seconds he was completely knocked out, laying in bed with his shirt opened, Clive rubbing his stomach, and his sides. What had he done? He didn't ever … intend for it to come to this. Poor Luke, he probably didn't even want to be Clive's roommate anymore. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Luke held onto Clive's hand. The two were on the bus, having gone about their normal daily routine. Clive didn't know if Luke felt the same way but he felt extremely uncomfortable being so close to him right now. He shouldn't be holding his hand, he should be getting yelled at … he was a little tired, standing there, holding onto the pole as the bus moved. He couldn't get the image of Luke's crying face out of his mind. He felt like he'd gotten off too easy this time. 

Luke was just standing there, wearing a big fluffy coat that concealed his uniform. Desmond was slightly behind them, completely quiet as they made their way to school. 

"So Flora and Dahlia -" Desmond said, sounding a little depressed. Clive figured he'd be bummed out about it. He never could tell if Desmond  _ actually  _ had a thing for Dahlia, but he knew he'd  _ die  _ for Flora. 

Though, he felt like Desmond enjoyed the thought of it … 

"Yeah- it's nice isn't it? Now people will stop asking if we're dating- and Flora will finally have a girlfriend -" Clive said. Desmond sighed, " I hope i'm invited to their wedding-" 

"Probably not-" Luke hissed. " Dahlia wouldn't want you anywhere near her or Flora- you're too weird-" 

"That's not very nice Lukey~ right Clive? Tell him he's being rude~!" He said. Clive was quiet … face pressed into the bar. He was asleep standing up. Luke looked up at his tired face, and couldn't help but feel bad for him. He yanked Clive's hand, waking him up. "H ..huh .." Clive said. Luke pushed him down onto the seat, making him sit beside Desmond before sitting down on his legs. "go to sleep." He said.

Without even thinking, Clive passed out, holding Luke in his arms as he did exactly what he was told … "I wonder if Flora will be in our first period-" Luke asked, as if He didn't just do something entirely strange. Desmond shrugged, "well - she can't skip class just to come sit with Dahlia, unless they change something around …" Desmond said. "Which she probably will-" 

Luke smiled, he'd finally have a friend in his first class period. He felt so alone sitting in between all of these older kids this whole time. It was nice to think that he was finally going to be around someone his own age. He looked up at Clive … and hummed, rubbing his own stomach. He didn't know what he'd seen last night, maybe it was just a mistake. Maybe … Clive had rolled over in his sleep and he was just drooling on him, on accident …

That wouldn't explain why he had his tongue out, clearly moving his head on his own to lick Luke's chest. Luke had no idea why he was trying to make excuses for Clive. He knew he'd done something wrong. It was just hard to think about the fact that someone he trusted so much would do something like that to him. He sighed, and leaned against his chest … 

"It would be nice if Dahlia could be my roommate …" Luke said. 

"Did you know she has her room to herself? Apparently- Flora just moved in- so there's an open space floating around the school." Desmond said. "Since she was with Anthony- anthony didn't have anyone- so now Lili is his roommate- but now Lili's roommate lives alone so you could go ask her honestly …" Desmond said. Luke tilted his head, "who is she?" He asked, getting a smile in response. 

"A girl named Emmy- she looks pretty plain on the outside but she's pretty strong- i just want her to choke me so bad- you have no idea-" 

" … Mm" Luke mumbled. He figured Desmond would say something like that but he didn't honestly think it would come so soon in the day. Wait, who was he kidding? Desmond never stopped. 

"Is she nice?" Luke asked. 

Desmond made a weird face. It was like he wanted to say something but he knew if he spoke up he'd probably get beaten down to a pulp or something. He shrugged, "she's … um- well- she's sort of like Clive- to be honest. Only- way less whiny- and probably more intentionally violent." 

" … so she's not nice at all-"

"Well if you don't bother her you'll get along just fine but- i can't promise she won't break you." Desmond said. Luke wasn't very comforted by the idea of getting "broken." he was just looking for a roommate that wouldn't give him a rubdown every single time he took a nap. How hard was that? 

Well, he might as well try … Desmond probably knew her schedule, he should ask so he could meet her. "Do you know where she'll be during gym?" He asked, and Desmond nodded, " in the gym next to ours- she spends the whole day with a punching bag … after four years they've had to replace it seventeen times- i counted every time- Luke I cant breathe im-"

"Dez i'm really worried about you-" 

"Don't be-" He mumbled, " I'm a lost cause-" he sighed, slouching forward a little. What a weird guy- honestly, there was no saving him. Luke just sighed, and ignored Desmond's swooning rant. He seemed to really have no type, it was nice that he liked everyone, but … still. 

Luke sighed, and the bus stopped. They were about halfway to school by now. The bus rides always took so long, and with all the slowly building commotion it was honestly hard to pass the time without thinking of something terrible … 

"I'm happy Clive is coming back to school- but is he really okay? I didn't wanna say anything while he was listening, or convince him that he should be at home but i'm really worried about him being back so soon." Desmond said, looking over at the two. 

Luke was quiet … " he's been doing all right. A couple of days ago we went outside even- he's been buying me a lot of stuffed animals and other stuff - that's been really nice- I don't think I've ever seen him act like this before …" 

"He's been nice?" 

"Yeah- but … he's also acting weird- and I don't know why- but I really don't like it." 

"Weird how?"

"um -I can't say-" Luke looked away, " I don't want him to be mad at me for telling." 

"Is it something embarrassing?"

"Y-yes-"

"Oh - well he's probably gonna be fine- if it gets serious then you should probably say something. He's the type to try and do everything himself so he isn't going to seek help on his own." Desmond said. 

Luke was quiet ".. I- i'll be there for him -" he said, and Desmond smiled, "You two are so cute~!" He said. 

"N-no we aren't!"

"Yes you aree!" 

Luke felt like Desmond was really missing the big picture here. He wasn't trying to be with Clive, he was just trying to be a good friend. Even if he'd been mistreated lately, he still didn't want to give up hope that he could be friends with his roommate.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


. . .

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Luke walked down the corridor with the idiot duo, making their way to Clive's locker. Flora was walking beside him, holding hands with Dahlia. She looked so happy, she'd looked happy all day, but …

Luke was really freaked out by how normal Desmond was acting. 

He figured- the guy would be staring at them, asking them to kiss- more excited than ever but he was just sort of hanging onto Clive, watching him punch his locker open. Clive's locker had suffered four straight years of abuse. It had been painted black, punched, kicked, probably had Clive's head slammed into it a few times, not to mention it was dented in so many places that it was hard to tell what it originally looked like in the first place. Luke watched him open it, apparently he had to hit it at a certain angle to get the lock to pop off. 

As soon as he did, the door fell to the ground with a loud metal clack, and a few people in the hallway turned their heads to see the avalanche of love letters that had been shoved into his locker. some of them were pink envelopes, some of them were red and below pops, some of them were pitch black with white text that just said " get well soon." 

Some of them looked like death threats, " Please come back to school!" One screamed in highlighted, bold handwriting. There were condoms with kiss marks stuck in there, slips of paper, a pair of panties … 

Clive just looked down at it all, not saying a single word. 

"Someone put their underwear in there …" Flora remarked, completely shocked at the idea. Clive picked up one of the letters that stood out to him, a crumpled piece of paper that had been ripped when it got shoved inside. 

" YOU THINK YOU'RE TOUGH SHIT HUH? LEAVING SCHOOL LIKE YOU CAN DO WHATEVER YOU WANT WHENEVER YOU WANT. I HAVE WORKED MY ASS OFF FOR YOU AND YOU DON'T EVEN NOTICE. FUCK YOU. IF YOU'RE NOT BEHIND THE GYM AS SOON AS THE LAST BELL RINGS I'M COMING TO YOUR HOUSE AND I'M BEATING YOUR ASS. -  **_RACHEL WALKER_ ** " 

.. " I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHO YOU ARE!?-" Clive yelled, tossing the paper on the ground. He was done with this love letter bullshit, taking out a lighter. Dez smacked it out of his hand, "No! Bad Clive!" 

"I'M GOING TO LOSE MY SHIT DEZ-" 

Desmond gently rubbed his back, kicking away all of the letters, picking up the singular book that they'd come here to get. 

Dahlia spoke up, " my locker was like that too- seems like everyone is in a rush to get a date-" she said. 

"But- WHY?" 

"Haven't you heard? The next party is coming up- on the north west building- we're having a costume party-" she said. 

Clive just stared … it was october first- but people were freaking out like they only had a few hours left. Clive guessed he was just- everyone's first choice- so they all wanted to be early. Same with Dahlia. 

Flora spoke up, "I got a box of cookies this morning from Anthony- he was sad when I said I was already with someone-" 

"Anthony isn't dating Sophia?" Luke asked. What happened? He thought he'd helped them, or … maybe they were just friends now. 

"He got into another fight because she won't come back to school. He made it sound like she ripped his heart out-" 

"That's just how he talks-" Desmond said, and he was right, Anthony was … dramatic. 

Luke picked up one of the letters, and read through it. 

  
  
  


"  _ Hi - you don't know me- and you probably don't really care, but i'd like to get to know you a little more. It's not because of the party, i'm not even going, I just hear a lot about you and i'm curious. We have the same gym class, I see you look over at me a lot so I figured you might be interested. My number is xxx xxx xxxx. I don't talk much so if you're not too busy kissing your roommate, you should text me _

" 

.. h-how did they know? Luke was suddenly afraid, he tugged at Clive's sleeve, "Clive! This one is scary!" He said, and Clive took it. 

He read through it … and immediately went stiff. This must be the same person that's been spreading the rumors around school. They seem to know just about everything that had to do with Clive, they were watching him. He suddenly felt afraid, paranoid, he really didn't know they were watching right now, it was entirely possible that they were. 

He looked around, meanwhile Desmond was busy talking shit about Anthony with Flora. She seemed just about sick and tired of him. She didn't understand why they'd put her in a room with someone so insufferable, but at least she didn't have to deal with it anymore. She'd only have to do with the loving embrace of his sister from now on, instead of the many many many problems that a random, looks obsessed, teenage boy could cause for himself and just about everyone else around him without even trying.

Clive looked at Luke, before pulling out his phone. First day back to school and he was already stressed beyond belief. Why did everything always have to be this way? He dialed the number the best he could before saving it as a contact with a bunch of question marks. He sent it a text, just simple, "what." Before he shoved his phone in his pocket and went right back on about his day. 

"And he's always talking about my clothes! Like he knows better than me about fashion!" Flora said. 

"Right? Coming from the guy that dresses like a vampire and walks around moping about his  _ perfect girlfriend. _ Serves him right!" Desmond huffed. 

He sounded a little jealous, in Dahlia's opinion. She'd never seen Dez with someone … she was tempted to pair him up though, who would he work well with? Probably Someone who was just as weird as he was. Either that or someone quiet to contrast him. 

Did Dez like guys? She knew of a few that could possibly be of interest to him, but she didn't want Clive to go on a jealous rampage … if he would. 

Still, this mail situation was pretty annoying, she couldn't wait to go home where she could just cuddle with Flora and plan out what they'd wear, instead of dealing with a million people who she didn't know, telling her all at once how much they loved her. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Luke watched Clive get smacked across the arm by his coach. The cheerleaders were in the gym today, not to practice, but to work out … though, Luke couldn't take his eyes off of Clive. 

Something felt wrong still … 

He looked away, seeing Dahlia fix Flora's hair for her. The two were kneeled beside each other, in gym shorts and plain white shirts with matching socks and shoes. Flora's bow had snapped, it was her favorite. She wore it just about every single day, so no wonder it finally broke. A couple seconds ago, she was crying about it, but Dahlia was quick to come to her aid. The bow was pretty long, it snapped itself into two pieces, so she used her comb to part Flora's hair into pigtails instead of her usual high ponytail. 

Dahlia held out a mirror, " what do you think?" She said. "I put them up high since your hair is usually like that, but we can try low ones if you-" 

"I love it! Dang i'm cute-!" She said, grinning into the mirror. She was probably just trying to support her sister, but it was hard to tell. She did look cute … Dahlia snorted, "really~ tell me if you don't like it and i'll take it down-" she said. 

"I like it! I'm gonna wear my hair like this now- i've sort of wanted to change that ponytail for a while-" she said. Dahlia kissed her cheek, "try not to tie it so tight- alright?" 

"Alright-!" 

"While we're on the floor, you wanna try doing some sit-ups?" 

"Sit-ups are hard!" 

"Because you haven't developed the muscle that you need to do them-" 

"Hmf-" 

Luke watched Flora reluctantly do a few sit-ups, before he turned back to Clive, he looked irritated … getting yelled at for being "lazy" 

Luke sighed, and arched off of the ground, doing a backbend with Celeste. 

"Luke … you're very flexible …" she said, and Luke looked at her, "I am?" He asked. He had assumed everyone could do this. She nodded, and the girl to his other side spoke up. She was dark blonde, a decorative jewel on her head as she sort of laid there, " Celeste .. how come you don't want to be on the cheer squad?" She asked. Her voice was very robotic. Luke hadn't ever heard her talk before, but his immediate thought was that it was strange. 

"Cause- I just don't want to. I'd rather spend my time running my blog and stuff." 

" Oh .. okay- do you want to have tea with me this afternoon." She said. Luke was worried, so he hesitantly asked, " Um- are you okay?" 

Aurora was the girl's name, and she looked up at Luke. Her face was usually stoic, and this time was no different, "what do you mean." 

"You seem sad-" 

"Oh .. no- sorry- I have autism."

Luke tilted his head, "You do?" He asked. She nodded, "Sorry if i seem empty- i just can't express myself much on the outside. I'm not sad- i just don't - look happy." She said. "i'm actually pretty excited about the game coming up tomorrow. Celeste, will you be there?" She asked, and Celeste sighed, "Sure- sure …" she said. 

Aurora gave her best smile, and Celeste seemed to soften. "I'll be there- but you won't be at your best if you don't stretch-" she said. Aurora nodded, and then the bell rang … 

"Oops- I promise i'll stretch at home." Aurora said. Celeste sighed, going quiet as a familiar face walked past them … 

" He got taller." Aurora said, and Celeste looked at her, "ew- did you catch the Clive?" She asked. 

"The Clive?"

"The  _ disease … _ it's been running wild lately." She said. Aurora was quiet for a long while. She didn't say anything as she stared off into space, wondering what the heck Celeste meant by that. "Are you asking if I like him?" She said. 

"Yeah-"

"I don't like boys …"

"You like girls?"

"No … "

"Oh- i just thought- you noticed his height so." 

"That's because .. even if I don't like him. I find him interesting, I wrote a story about him, I want him to read it …" 

Luke and Celeste were quiet. They had no idea what to say to that, it was dead silent, before Aurora turned a little red. "Just kidding …" 

"Do you want to talk to him?" Luke asked, and she shrugged. "It would be nice." 

Luke smiled, when Clive walked by again, he grabbed his hand. Clive stopped, he seemed a little afraid, turning to look at Luke. 

"This is Aurora- she wanted to meet y-"

"Don't care-" Clive pulled his hand from Luke's grasp, and Luke huffed, holding onto his leg, "don't be mean! She doesn't even like boys! She just wants to say hi!" 

"Fine! Hi!" He said, and she stared at him … 

She could see up his shorts, the view was nice, she didn't know if she should tell him or not though .. Probably not, right? "Hello .." she said. 

"What's that thing on your forehead-" 

"Jewelry-" 

"You look like a witch." He said, shaking Luke off of his leg. 

"H-hey! That's not very nice!" Luke yelled … but then he was gone … 

"He's just mean- don't listen to him." Luke huffed. Aurora hummed .. "do I really look like a witch .." she asked, and Luke paused … 

"More like a magician."

".. thank you for being honest." 


	16. Cold.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke seems normal but Clive doesn't trust it. Aurora becomes friends with Clive, and they plan to go to the party together, as friends.

The two laid down in their own beds, trying to get to sleep, but not being able to. It was a little awkward being alone together now. There was a stain on the floor from Luke's vomit, a constant reminder of what had happened .. . yeah he had been thinking about it all day, he thought about it in class, he thought about it during his test, he thought about it when he was in the bathroom, he thought about it when he was at gym. it was literally all he could think about 24/7 every single hour of every single day, at least since it happened yesterday. 

It was late at night, he couldn't hear anything but the sound of crickets chirping in the darkness of the outside beyond the window, which was cracked open to let the cold air seep through, so that they wouldn't have to turn on the air conditioner. The room smelled like the crisp night air, but it quickly became humid, so Clive was sticking to his pillow right about now, sweat just glazing his forehead .. .

Luke laid there, not facing Clive, curled up in his bed. Clive wondered what he was thinking, if he was thinking at all .. . the boy looked like a lump laying there. It was entirely too cute, the way he snuggled up to his stuffed animals, and tried his best to sleep .. . But couldn't. Clive wondered- if this would really be a permanent thing for them. He honestly didn't mind the cuddling, it was just .. . the fact that he had done what he did- and now he wasn't able to sleep with his guilty conscience. Luke's silence didn't make anything any better either, it would be much more preferable if the boy yelled at him, or kicked him, or screamed at him, or did anything that would give Clive what he deserved. But the only thing that happened was the setting of the afternoon sun and the bringing of nighttime upon them. The bringing of another sleepless, cold, october night. 

"Cwive ?" Luke asked, getting a quiet hum in response. Luke didn't immediately reply, but after maybe ten seconds, he spoke up, " Can .. . You come over here?" He asked. Clive turned his head, seeing that Luke had rolled over. He was squishing the stuffed frog in his arms, strawberry pajamas contrasting with the green in a weirdly clashy way. He looked really cute, but he looks really vulnerable. He looks like he was afraid to even move, or look at Clive the wrong way.

"Are - you sure?" Clive asked, not wanting to get near Luke. Not because he might make Luke uncomfortable, but because he might start touching him again ..

"Mmhm" 

Clive sat up, and pushed his blanket off, walking around both of their beds. He got down onto Luke's bed, laying next to him without much of a second thought. Luke immediately turned, and kicked at Clive, "turn around .. ." he said. 

"Huh? Why?"

"Because." Luke said. Clive just rolled over, laying on his other side. He felt Luke pull the blanket up over his body, covering him completely in the warmth of the thick fabric. He laid still, Luke's srms were next. He wrapped them around Clive's shoulders, cuddling him .. .

Oh, this was actually pretty nice. He felt comfortable, he felt small, but he felt comfortable. ".. . I'm sorry about what i did." He said. I hope it wasn't too late for him to be forgiven. It would suck if you had to live the rest of his life in regret for something that he did because he was .. . Horny. "It's okay." Luke said. 

" it isn't okay! it isn't okay for anyone to touch you like that- it isn't okay for me to sit here and act like I deserve forgiveness either- you should just-" 

" I said it's okay." Luke repeated himself. " you talk too much. I don't really feel like talking about this right now, I just want to go to sleep, so close your eyes- and be quiet- and go to sleep." Luke said. Clive just sat there in silence, completely appalled at the nature of Luke's words. He didn't know how he should feel about it, on one hand, he was extremely guilty .. . but on the other hand, if Luke was willing to forgive him and he should just take the forgiveness. Even if it felt wrong, even if that didn't make it okay, he should accept Luke's "it's okay." And not question it. 

.. . But it felt weird. 

"Duke still won't leave me alone …" Luke said. Clive was immediately prepared to stomp that little boy. He honestly couldn't believe that someone who looked so much like Luke could be so annoying. He was told that it wasn't intentional, but it was a little hard to tell .. .

" I'll deal with him-" Clive said, feeling Luke gently rub his arm. It felt like Luke was trying to comfort him, but he didn't know why. " .. . Clive .. . Do you like me?" Luke asked. 

Clive felt his brain completely explode. He had no idea how to respond to that, he'd spent the past couple of months rejecting the idea that he was even attracted to Luke- and now that he was finally accepting that part of his mental state, he had to deal with the idea that he liked Luke .. . as in .. .  _ liked _ Luke. He didn't know what to say, he didn't wanna tell Luke something that wasn't true but he really didn't know what the truth was in the first place. He was silent for a long time, he just sat there thinking about whether or not he should tell Luke how he felt, what he'd been doing and what his current thoughts were- but he didn't really want to freak the boy out or anything. He tensed, eyebrows furrowing as he hesitantly replied … 

"Yeah .." 

He did like Luke. Physically, mentally. He liked Luke a lot, he honestly couldn't think about being with anyone else.

".. . Oh" Luke said. Clive blushed, right, Luke didn't like him back. He'd almost forgotten that part, not to mention the whole sleep molestation thing. He wondered what Luke was thinking, clenching his fists as he anxiously laid there. his heart was beating faster than ever now, and he was sweating a little bit. Nothing was happening, he was just extremely anxious. 

"Goodnight .." Luke said, nuzzling Clive's head.. 

Goodnight- 

Goodnight?? 

Goodnight!? 

He stared at the blanket … " you- don't-"

"Go to sleep-"

"But-"

"Hush …" Luke rubbed Clive's face … 

"Goodnight .." 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


… 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Clive opened his eyes, seeing that Luke was already awake. It was morning, and they had to go to school today. He'd fallen asleep so fast in Luke's bed, it must have been his personal record … 

_ Welp, time to get dressed in silence. _

Was it normal if he was just, completely afraid to even sit up? He sat up anyways, and pulled his blankets aside, stretching, cracking his back in the process. Luke was standing off somewhere to the side. When Clive looked, the first thing that immediately stood out was Luke's lack of clothing … he turned a little red, but ignored it. Luke was digging through his bag to find clean clothes to wear, and he pulled out a spare uniform shirt with some really cute shorts. "Good morning …" Luke said, pulling his shorts on, concealing his adorable briefs … 

_ He's so cute- I just wanna- _

How could he still be having these thoughts? What was it going to take for them to stop! Clive stood. He walked over to his dresser and began looking for clothes, he didn't care what he put on to be honest, he was just looking to not be in his underwear at school. Luke was already dressed. He looked nice, but that really wasn't a surprise. He looked nice just about every day..

He looked over at Clive, and huffed, "That doesn't match!" He said, walking over. He started to pick through Clive's clothes. He honestly couldn't believe that someone at the age of 18 years old didn't know how to dress himself. Clive watched as Luke picked out an outfit for him, "You should wear this instead! Honestly you must really be a dog since you're so color blind-" Luke said.

Clive huffed, "  _ thanks-" _ he hissed, flicking Luke's forehead. Luke slapped his arm, and Clive resisted the urge to hit him back and start a fight … 

Well that was a relatively normal exchange. Maybe he's overreacting? But surely Luke must be upset, right? If not then he really didn't know what was going on here anymore. 

Mornings were usually slow, but this one felt like it was moving at a snail's pace. Neither of them said anything to each other as they went through their daily routine, brushing their hair, putting their clothes on, brushing their teeth, the usual. Luke took a second to gather all his accessories and figure out which one he wanted to wear today. He settled on a hair clip that Dahlia had given to him. The bunny one from when he first wore a skirt … 

"Clive- should I wear a skirt today?" He asked. Clive was busy digging through his fridge, pulling out a monster, a red one. " Why are you asking me?" He said, and Luke huffed, "because you're the one that likes to look at me-" 

Clive almost choked, he had to give himself a second to contemplate his thought. So Luke was aware, he just wasn't saying anything, either that or he was just extremely cool with it. Either way it was really unnatural, and Clive didn't know how to reply. " Um- well- if you want-" 

"I don't know if i want to- that's why I'm asking-" 

"Well I don't know either!" 

It was quiet … Luke huffed, " just pick whichever you like more- this one or that one-" Luke said. There was a moment of contemplative silence where Clive had the power to decide whether or not Luke would wear a skirt … 

"I like your shorts-" he said, going back to his fridge to dig for something to eat. Luke looked down, and nodded. The next couple minutes were pretty uneventful, They spent a while getting dressed. Luke opened the curtains to let in the morning light, and Clive squinted from it's blinding brightness. His nose felt like it was about to freeze off, Luke shut the window, thankfully getting rid of the cold air before turning the heater on … 

"Clive-"

"Hm?" 

"Buy me breakfast-"

"What?" 

"Please?"

"... Fine." Clive mumbled, "what do you want to eat?" 

"Um- grilled cheese-" 

"For breakfast?"

"Why not?"

"... Well- I can just  _ make  _ you one-"

"Your cooking sucks." 

"... That's fair- are you ready to go?" Clive asked, looking around for his bag. He'd thrown it onto the floor. He didn't remember why he threw it on the floor, probably because of some stupid thought he had that made him upset. 

He sighed, and picked it up, making his way out the door with Luke following beside him. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


...

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Clive sat on the bus, watching Luke drop crumbs and cheese onto his lap. Flora was sitting with Dahlia, talking to her about something. They were always together now … Clive was a little jealous of their relationship if he had to be honest. It kind of hurt seeing them together, when he knew he'd fucked up his own chances of that. It was too early in the morning to be thinking about the events from last night, he was happy that Luke had forgiven him, he was paranoid that something was coming. It just didn't seem normal for someone to forgive so easily, he wasn't buying it. Flora quietly hummed to herself. The bus was really cold, the windows had a thin layer of frost over them, seemingly blue in color, at least she thought so. " The school is like a winter wonderland … " she said. 

Wonderland- 

The only wonder here was the amount of freak shit going on. Clive's back STILL hurt. He honestly didn't expect flora and Luke's kind, calm attitude to survive much longer. Dahlia nodded, coiling Flora's hair around her finger, "It's really pretty during Christmas, you should see it …" she said. It really was pretty during Christmas … Clive thought about that, not knowing what to get Luke for- 

Wait a minute, would Luke even want anything from him? It was hard to imagine him accepting a gift at this point in time. It seemed pretty unnatural, but who was to say? Clive certainly wasn't going to miss the opportunity to make Luke smile. He could see it now, handing Luke a gigantic stuffed teddy bear, making the boy jump for joy. Cuddling on it with him, on the giant stuffed bear … 

"Cwive.." Luke tiredly said. "Mm?" Clive replied. 

"What do you want for Christmas?" 

" .. . Nothing really-" Clive said. That was the truth. He really didn't want anything, and he especially didn't want Luke to give him anything. Luke hummed, " I want a nap-" he said, quietly yawning as he tried not to fall asleep. 

"Did you sleep last night?" 

"Mm , sort of-" Luke said… he looked so cute when he was sleepy, Clive wanted to give him another energy drink, but after the last time he didn't see it having a positive outcome. 

Desmond was barely awake, "What did he do all night?" Dahlia asked. Clive just shrugged, " theater just opened, so he was talking to Anthony all night-" Clive said. " … i- i thought he hated Anton?" She said. Honestly, their relationship was a little confusing, one second they'd be all over each other, then the next it was "that guy? FUCK him!" 

Clive just shrugged, "that's just how they are-" he said. He really found himself saying that a lot more lately, everyone just- was a certain way. Including himself. 

Luke wiped his hand on Clive's shirt, and Clive just sat there …

Did he just-

No-

Luke looked at him, before looking away …

HE DID-

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Clive had stepped out of class, right now he was just walking aimlessly through the hallway. It was starting to feel like school was becoming less and less important, after all, he had all this other stuff to deal with, and think about, all the time. It was really stressful when he couldn't really say anything about it to anyone if he didn't want to be judged. He made his way around the corner, and jolted back as he bumped into someone. He heard the sound of books cascading across the air as they fell to the floor with a loud slam. Whoever he had bumped into, they have been running at full speed. Both he and the person ended up on the floor, Clive opened his eyes, seeing a girl on top of him.

She looked familiar. dark blond hair, a gem on her forehead, a stoic expression on her face. " ... Oh, you're the witch girl from gym -" he said, and She didn't reply … she was just sort of staring at him, as if she never expected to see him again and her entire life. 

" .. . Actually i'm a magician-"

"What?"

"Nothing. That was so stupid- I'm sorry-" she said, face turning a little red, still sitting on his lap. Clive sat up, and looked around, seeing the sheer volume of books lying around .. . She must be from the Library, Clive rarely ever went in there unless it was to check out comics. "It's ..m fine- why are you carrying so many books? Don't they have carts for this?" He said, and she nodded. "They're all being used right now .. ." She was still rubbing her head, she must have gotten hit in the head with a textbook, since that was all that was lying around on the floor. There are a million and one math books surrounding them, from each and every angle, as if they were textbook monsters getting ready to eat them all. 

" Are you alright?" Clive finally looked at her, as in, looked at her, only to realize he was sitting on the floor, with this girl on his lap, and her button had snapped, and he could see down her shirt- 

And her chest was small, but her hips were wide- and her eyes were soft and she was looking at him like a puppy- 

Those cold blue eyes were really something … they were empty but Clive felt like he could see her soul squirming around in them. She looked excited about something, even though she wasn't making any faces. " It aches a little, I think I got hit in the head." She said. Clive hesitantly reached out, casually pressing his hand to her head. He looked around for the button, and picked it up, handing it to her as he rubbed over the spot.

They sat there in a sort of awkward silence. She held the button, Clive was somehow managing to make the pain go away …And then it finally stopped. "Does that feel better?" He asked, and she nodded. 

" S-so. I know you probably already got asked. But do you want to go to the party with me. I was thinking of being a witch- since you said i looked like one- it seemed like a good-"

"Nope- don't care- see ya-" Clive said, starting to get up. 

" Wait- is it because I talk weird? Or I bumped into you- i'm sorry." 

" No- i'm just not interested in dating anyone so you'd be wasting your time-" 

"I don't want to date- I just want to go with you since I don't have anyone to go with and i've never been before-" 

Clive was quiet … he squinted, "i'm not sure I follow-" he said. 

"I- i'm trying to ask if you want to be friends …" she said. Clive sighed, was he really in the position to deny friendship? Probably not. " Sure, fine- whatever-" he said, and she gave a little smile …

Honestly it was sort of cute. "Really?" 

"Yeah- can you get off me?" Clive asked, she moved out of the way, and stood up, letting Clive do the same. They both fixed their clothes, "Oh- I don't know if you know but I have a name- it's Aurora-" she said. Clive nodded, "that's a nice name …" he said. He honestly thought it was fitting for her. 

"If- if you're not in a rush- do you mind helping me?" She asked, and Clive shrugged, starting to pick up books. 

" … So- where were you going?" She asked, and Clive shrugged. He really wasn't going anywhere, he was just roaming the school so that he wouldn't have to be anywhere near the mistake he'd made. " Nowhere really" he said. his grades were probably going to start falling if he didn't get his shit together and start going back to class. Desmond would probably not be too happy with him either. "Oh- are you skipping- you shouldn't-" 

"Don't lecture me- there's nothing you can say that I haven't already heard a million times before." Clive said. 

"O-oh-" she had a pretty sizable stack of books in her hands, Clive honestly wondered how she could carry all those heavy textbooks at one time. They were stacked up past her vision, maybe that's why she was running … he followed behind her as she walked. There's no other sound besides that tapping of their shoes on the hard floor. It echoed throughout the barren hallway, filling their ears with a rhythmic noise. At some point they began to walk in sync, neither of them really noticed when it started to happen, but it wasn't like they were going to point it out in the first place. 

"So … you ever get bored in there?"

"In where."

"In the library? Duh-" 

"It's a library." 

" I'll take that as a yes- so why don't you quit and go do something worth your time?" 

"Because then who will do my job?" 

"Someone else probably-" 

"Yes- but if everyone thought that way then nobody would do anything. I don't mind the boring library, if  _ someone  _ has to do it then I volunteer." She said. Clive just shrugged, " i guess you're right- people like you can run the libraries and people like me can run the world-" 

"How can you expect to run the world if you aren't even willing to run a library-" 

"No comment." 

"I see …" she said, and Clive boredly looked down at the book … 

"I guess you could do both, right? Unless running the library takes up all your free time?" He said. She shook her head, "it doesn't, but i'm not exactly a social person so i don't really do much else-" 

"Why not?" 

"I'm weird-"

"But- everyone is weird-" 

"Well then i'm weird in a weird way …" 

"I don't think you're all that weird, you seem normal to me-" 

" … i do?" 

Clive tilted his head, "I mean, yeah- " he said. She looked at him, "you really don't think i sound weird?" 

" Your voice is flat but it's not enough to call you weird-" 

"Oh … people usually tell me i'm strange-" she said, and Clive shrugged, "they're just boring- you're fine dude-" 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


It was October seventh, cold as shit outside, and Luke was in the locker room, getting ready to go perform. It was Wednesday, that wasn't at all an Important detail, but it was Wednesday … the locker room was full of shivering cheerleaders, but Dahlia looked fine. "I know it's cold- I know." She said, "But you've all been through worse weather. We've done this in snow, so this isn't anything." Dahlia said. 

"The lotion makes it colder! I feel wet!" One girl said. 

"Well you're gonna have to suck it up! Look at Flora- she spilled water on herself and she's not trembling at all!" Dahlia said. Flora smiled, she seemed proud of herself. The rest of the girls just collectively sighed, including Luke, who was absolutely shaking. 

"Don't worry- you'll warm up when we start moving. It isn't  _ that  _ cold!" She said. "All we're doing is a simple dance today- and then next week we have a football game- then an assembly." 

Aurora raised her hand, and Dahlia looked at her … 

"If you're going to ask me if you look okay- For the  _ hundredth _ time girl, you're hot." Dahlia said. Aurora slowly put her hand down, and Dahlia shook her head. " Alright- let's get out there and do it!" She yelled, and they all gave a collective cheer, starting to move around, jog in place, or stretch as they came running from the locker rooms. 

The bleachers were packed full, Clive sat up there, having been made to come here by none other than Luke. It wasn't like he wasn't going to show up anyways but …

Well, there was something else going on, he had a good feeling that the person who had been spreading rumors about him was near him right now, as they were sending him texts … 

"  _ You look so cute in your little scarf"  _

_ "I have a scarf too"  _

_ "Sorry, that was weird-"  _

_ "Our scarfs can hold hands together"  _

_ "Sorry, that was weird too …"  _

Clive blushed a little, this person was really cute, but what the hell were they on? This just had to be the weirdest conversation he'd ever had with anyone, and they kept apologizing for being weird, as if that made it better … 

Clive continued to sit on the bleachers alone until Desmond got back, stress eating a huge box of popcorn. "Dude i'm fucking freezing-" he said. He didn't get a reply though, Clive was too busy looking at all the cheerleaders. never mind, that was a lie. He was actually just looking at Luke. It was kind of hard not to, what with the recent events. Luke just looked so cute in his little cheerleader uniform. It was nearly impossible for Clive to take his eyes off of him. Especially when he was running around half naked, doing a pretty good job of performing his routine. 

Short shorts and an off shoulder crop top. Clive wanted to kiss his stomach, he wanted to drag his tongue across Luke's chest again, he wanted to feel his hands running across the boy's body… ughhhhhh it was hard not to think about it. 

Clive wondered why Dez was eating so much, but before he could ask what was wrong-

The bleachers shook with footsteps, and Clive turned to see Anthony sitting next to him … 

Clive sighed, and mentally counted down. A three- a two- and a one- 

"This is all your fault!" Anthony cried. Clive gave him a pat on the back, " i'm not sorry. I'm still happy for her. You are an asshole …" Clive said. Anthony shook his head, "you owe me, fuck boy." 

"What? You want a blowjob?" Clive asked. Anthony hissed, "no- just to chat- so how's Alfendi treating you? Back still hurt?!" He said.

There was no pause, Clive immediately grabbed Anthony, lifted him, and punched him as hard as he could. He kept going, fists connecting with Anthony's face maybe six more times. Anthony took a stumbling step backwards each time he was struck, clearly trying to keep his balance. People gasped, and quickly moved out of the way, before Anthony was grabbed by his shirt, and slammed down on the bleachers as hard as Clive could throw him. He looked murderous, with zero intentions on stopping until Anton was dead.

  
  


Dez, however, did stop him before he could start kicking, "Clive!!" He yelled, but Clive wasn't listening. He elbowed Desmond in the face, yelling a harsh, "get OFF me!" meanwhile Anthony was trying to crawl away. "You fucking deserved it you lecherous monster!" He exclaimed, pointing his finger towards Clive. His eye was swollen, lip busted, face fucked all the way up-

"Fucking kill yourself!" Clive screamed, officers were running over, but he didn't care. He started to move, and Anthony flinched, fist barely grazing him before Dez grabbed Clive's arm. Clive tried shoving him away, but Dez held onto him, dripping blood onto his shoulder as he hugged him close. "Shh- shhhh- you're too pretty to be angry-" he said. 

Clive growled, starting to yell all kinds of things. People weren't recording this, if they did they'd be expelled, but it was already bad enough that he was  _ doing it _ .

Dez continued to hold him, nuzzling him, slowly watching Clive calm down. He went from struggling violently, to roughly tugging, to gently pulling at Dez's arms, until he was finally limp. " You're sleepy …" Dez said, tensing as the police officers took one look, saw that it was Clive, and turned away … 

"Fucking fags-" Anthony groaned. Desmond sighed, trying not to make a scene. People were looking at them, they needed to go, this was embarrassing. He let Clive hang off of his shoulder, kicking Anthony between the legs on his way out. 

The blonde nearly vomited right then and there, Desmond wondered how many times he'd have to get his ass kicked before he finally realized that he shouldn't fuck with Clive. Not just because Clive had no self control, and would fight every time, but because Desmond was starting to get really annoyed. 

"Let … me go." Clive said, and Dez sighed, "no- i think we need to talk honey- you're clearly upset- it won't do you any good to keep quiet." 

"I don't want to-" 

"I'm not asking- i'm telling you. You're making mommy very upset with this behavior." 

"... Man- fuck you too- I hate everyone- I just- wanna go home." Clive said, trying to pull away. Desmond wouldn't let him though, "you don't mean that-" 

"I do- let me go-" 

"No you don't." Dez opened the side door, walking Clive down the hallway. " … My hands hurt-" Clive looked at his bruised knuckles, and cringed. "Well- maybe if you stopped getting into shit, your hands wouldn't hurt." 

Clive sighed … " i'm sorry-" 

"It's not your fault-"

"It is though- my stomach really fucking- hurts now. All the time-" 

"Well … you did get- you know- maybe you should see a doctor?"

"No-"

"You're  _ going  _ to the fucking doctor i'm not arguing with you about this-" 

"... Fine-" 

" I know you don't want to- but i think we should tell someone what happened-"

"Fine-"

"And- while we're at it we-"

"Fine- fine- whatever-" Clive said, "I'm tired man- i wanna go home-" he mumbled … 

Dez nodded, " ha- we're like those hillbilly dads that get in fights with other dads at their kid's soccer games-" 

"... What- is Pukey our butt baby now?"

"He always has been-"

Clive tensed, pulling away from Dez as they walked back outside. It was late in the afternoon, and they were crossing a field. Grass crunched under their shoes as Clive was awakened by the cold. 

"He's gonna be pissed …" Clive said, already anticipating the silent treatment that was to come. Dez shrugged, "I'm sure if you explain, he'll understand." 

  
  



	17. Morning

Luke sat on his bed, filling in the answers for his homework. He hadn't seen Clive in a while, that was extremely worrying considering the boy had an extreme talent for getting in trouble. He would only come back at night, at which point Luke would be deadly tired. He would just lay there, Feeling Clive's weight sink into his bed, allowing himself into his arms. He'd be too tired to question it at that point, when he had been up for so long without him. He'd fall asleep instantly, and in the morning- Clive would be gone. 

It was a strange phenomenon, but it had been Luke's life for the past couple of days. He sat on his bed, filling in the questions to his homework. At least while he was awake he could get some work done, right? He sighed, letting his pencil drop down onto the bed. It was so late at night, and he was really tired. He wished Clive would come home already, but he knew that that was … just a thought. Luke sighed, he let himself fall back against the mountain of stuffed animals. They all seem sympathetic towards him, opening their arms, giving him a warm, fluffy embrace. Luke nuzzled his face into them, and tried to sleep on his own. He knew it wasn't going to work, but he tried it anyway.

All of a sudden the door opened, and he looked up to see his roommate standing there with his keys in his hand. Luke groaned, "where have you been?" He whined. At least Clive had come a little earlier this time, he didn't say anything, just shut the door and dropped his bag. He seemed to ignore Luke, making his way towards the bathroom. Luke watched him as he didn't even spend 2 seconds picking out his night clothes. All Clive had to do was look at his drawer, open it, pick something out, and then immediately go into the bathroom. 

Luke could hear bath water running … he huffed. Was he being ignored? Did he do something wrong? He didn't really know at this point. Clive was so wishy-washy. It was honestly hard to tell whether or not something was bothering him at any given point of time. Luke sat there, in a silent, contemplative state of mind. He was mostly just, rolling his legs around in bed, waiting for the other. 

Maybe he was upset about the fight that he had gotten into the other day? He left Luke there all alone. It was cold, and he had to walk home by himself. Luke really wasn't all that upset, he hadn't expected Clive to stay the whole time, but he also didn't expect a full-blown fight to break out in the middle of the game either. It was a huge distraction for him, He had trouble remembering his routine after that, and he didn't stay to perform again. He went to chase after Clive, but when he got there the other wasn't home ..

20 minutes came and went, and Clive came out of the bathroom, wrapped in the cheap cotton of his pajamas. It was just what he always wore. Random shirt, some briefs, and nothing else. Occasionally, if Luke was lucky, he'd see Clive wear some socks. Today wasn't one of those lucky days though. " Are you coming to sleep?" Luke asked. He moved his school supplies off of his bed, stacking it neatly on the floor, next to his book bag. Clive nodded, but he didn't say anything, which didn't really make us not worth anything in Luke's eyes. Clive walked over, and Luke hummed, staring him down as he moved …

"Are you not talking?"

"... Hm" 

"Is something wrong?" 

"Mm-mm" Clive shook his head. 

" … So then- why are you being so quiet?" Luke asked. Clive just sat there, at the edge of Luke's bed. He shrugged his shoulders, and then laid down like a bored dog, head in Luke's lap. Luke quietly rubbed his head … Clive seemed more or less like a dog now. He'd been letting Luke do anything. He seemed too afraid to yell at the boy, or make him upset anymore. Luke was enjoying this calmer Clive, especially when he got all cuddly. Like right now, the way Clive was shoving his head into Luke's stomach, it made the boy giggle. Clive's nose was tickling him a little. Luke' stomach felt tingly as the tip of his nose rubbed across it. It felt like he was being poked with one big finger , in his side's, in his stomach, tickled beyond reason. 

"Clive stoop!" Luke whined as Clive got into bed with him, leaving the lamp on as he held Luke close. 

Luke pulled at Clive's face, trying to get his mouth open, but Clive refused. He turned away from Luke, laying on his side. It didn't seem like he didn't want to talk, more like he just didn't want to open his mouth …

Luke contemplated why, before hesitantly poking Clive in the back. " Are you hungry? You've been outside all day-" he said. Clive shook his head, and Luke huffed. 

" … Cwive … i think- I like you-" He said. Clive immediately turned, and gave him a mildly confused look. 

The two gazed into each other's eyes for a second, before Luke leaned up, "Can I … have a kiss?" He asked. Clive went red, but the idiot fell for it, leaning far enough forward for Luke to grab his face. He forced Clive's mouth open, and peered inside, listening to his choked whines as he tried to pull away. 

He'd gotten braces, black ones with the little hints of silver on them. He also had a golden tooth where his " fang" should be, Luke huffed, "That's all?" He asked, Letting Clive's face go. Clive groaned, "y-you- ugh-" he rolled back over, red in the face as Luke spooned him, nuzzling his hair. He quietly mumbled something to himself, "i like your tooth, why'd you get it?" He asked, and Clive shook his head. He looked like he was still too embarrassed about Luke's method of getting him to open his mouth. The fact that he'd done it so easily just bothered him. He'd hardly even questioned it, Luke knew that he wanted to kiss him, and he used it … 

"Are you mad at me? Do you want a real kiss?" He said, a little grin on his face as Clive curled up underneath the blankets. "Keep talking, I dare you." Clive mumbled. Luke just leaned forward, accidentally brushing his lips across Clive's ear before laying down on him.

Clive didn't reply, pulling his head under the blanket, whining loudly at the sensation of Luke's lips on his ear. Erogenous zones were going to be the end of him, he was losing his mind. His brain went wild with a million and one thoughts that he'd been trying to suppress this whole time. They finally let loose, coming in by the trillions and zillions until he was steaming underneath the blanket, holding his ear. He wondered for a second about why Luke might have done it, but he came up short with answers. He sighed, and Luke rubbed his back. " Don't be sad." He said, " I was just messing with you .." Luke said. 

"Don't play like that, it's not funny"

" But you already kissed me while I was sleeping, right? I just pretended … " 

"...i- i'm sorry-"

"It's okay … I was just wondering. What's so different about it now that I'm awake?" Luke asked. Clive sighed, " it's just- I didn't want to do it in the first place …"

" If you didn't want to do it .. then you wouldn't have done it .."

" It's not that simple, it's really complicated-" Clive said. He had no idea how to explain to Luke but he had been molesting him, and just what that meant. It was most certainly not okay for him to kiss Luke in his sleep, and then kiss him while he was awake. He didn't even know why Luke was bringing this up. 

"D-do you want to kiss me or something?" He asked. He was trying to sound aggressive but he was failing it miserably. He just sounded like the scared little boy that he was on the inside. Luke hummed … 

" I dunno … I don't  _ think So .. _ " he said. 

Clive sat up, and grabbed Luke, "I'm so sick of you messing with me- are you going to get mad or are you just going to torture me? You're making it really hard to tell what the  _ fuck  _ i'm supposed to be doing right now!" 

"What do you mean?"

"I mean- you shouldn't still be cuddling with me! You act so normal- like it didn't happen .." he said, and Luke … blushed. 

"I'm sorry … it's just that, when it was over .. I wasn't upset, so I got confused-" Luke said. He seemed to really mean it ..

"So you're not mad at me .."

"No .. I know I should be- but I'm just not." Luke casually said, swatting at Clive's arm. Clive had no idea what Luke was talking about, but he hoped it led somewhere nice. " I don't think you would like me anyways-" Luke said, and Clive shook his head, "you don't know that-"

"I do- but either way- i wouldn't ever wanna date someone so mean to me-" he said, rolling over on his side. 

Clive was quiet … he groaned quietly, and let himself lay down onto the bed. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Flora stared at Dahlia, who was putting on her makeup, going for a more bold look today, shaving a cat scratch into her eyebrow. She had come over here to get away from her roommate, but now she … had something else she wanted. She wanted answers, sitting in the chair next to her sister's big mirror. They were dressed up to go to a little basement party somewhere, supposedly it was really just a casual smoke session, but Dahlia liked to shine no matter where she went. 

Yeah … that was her sister, shiny, sparkly, vibrant, no matter what. "... Dolly?" Flora said, wringing her fingers as she sat there, dressed in one of Dahlia's hoodies, and some shorts that made it hard to tell she had anything underneath. "Mm?" Dahlia asked, she was combing through her eyelash, spreading black into it with her mascara. 

"... How come- you were pretend dating me? Why not someone else?" Flora said. She knew they were together now, but it just felt weird to know that of all people, her sister chose her … but . "What do you mean? Someone has been spreading rumors, so I needed to counter it. What story could be better than me dating my own sister?" She said. 

Flora looked down … "well .. does that mean we can do other stuff now?" Flora said, and Dahlia almost stabbed herself in the eye with an eyebrow pencil. She looked down, and Flora looked up at her, a flushed but determined look on her face. " Other stuff? Why?" Dahlia said, and Flora looked away, "Because I love you … I don't want it to just be a joke- I want it to be real …" Flora said. Dahlia wondered if she was serious, reaching over to her, cupping her face. She looked into those averted eyes, "hey- look at me …" she said. Flora slowly redirected her gaze, and Dahlia leaned in, giving her a gentle kiss … Flora hadn't ever kissed anyone on the lips before, but as soon as the thought crossed her mind, "My first kiss is with Dahlia!" She almost cried … 

Dahlia pulled away, leaving Flora's lips pink with lipstick stains. Flora felt her heart skip a beat, and she reached up, wiping at the lipstick on her lips, "can- can I have another?" She said, and Dahlia smiled, "looks like you're busy wiping the first one off-" she said. Flora immediately stopped, "noo! I'm not- see? I'll leave it-" 

"Calm down, come here-" Dahlia said, pulling Flora up into her lap. Flora leaned up, kissing her on her own, getting a face full of lipstick as she excitedly pressed her features against Dahlia's. Dahlia just let her, giggling quietly when Flora stopped, expecting the same thing in return, patiently sitting there with her eyes closed. 

Dahlia kissed her as best she could, spreading her lips apart to let her feel what the other had to offer. She occasionally pulled away to pepper kisses against Flora's cheek, and let her breathe. The smaller girl was gripping her shirt pretty tight, subtly grinding onto her leg, Dahlia stopped to breathe, hands tangled in Flora's hair. "I love you- do we have to go? Can't we stay here?" Flora asked, and Dahlia grinned, "what's here to stay for?" 

"Y-you-"

"But i'll be with you at the party- or is it that you want to do something you can't do in front of everyone else?"

"D-dahliaaaa-" Flora whined, and Dahlia nodded, "I hear you~ poor horny baby~" She said, nibbling at her sister's neck. Flora bit her lip, legs hooked around one of Dahlia's as she continued to roll her hips forward. "I'm nott-" Flora whimpered, being graciously picked up, and carried over to the bed, she was laid down, carefully against the pillows like she was made of glass. "You totally are-" Dahlia said, and Flora sat up, "You lay down! I wanna be the one to make you feel good!"

"..." Dahlia went a little red, "Well you'd better not disappoint me- do you know what you're doing?" she said, knowing that no matter what Flora did, she would enjoy being touched at all. Flora shook her head, and Dahlia smiled, laying back as she opened her legs. She felt a little embarrassed about this, she was happy she showered and shaved though, Flora got soo close to her before … 

Dahlia's phone began to ring. She ignored it, she was busy, this was much more important than anything that could be happening outside this room. 

But it rang … and rang … she couldn't even feel Flora, she was so distracted by it. Flora lifted her head, and looked at Dahlia's phone. "I got it-" she said, pulling away completely. 

Dahlia sighed … she laid back, an extremely pissed look on her face as Flora answered it … she stayed silent on the phone for a while as someone screamed bloody murder. It wasn't pretty, it didn't sound pretty …

She didn't know what to do , so she looked at Dahlia, who gave her a really tired glance back ..

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Clive tried not to stare at Luke, this whole thing felt so unnatural … They were walking alone, going to school by foot. Luke was on Clive's shoulders, squishing his face around, while Clive stared at the ground with a traumatized look. He didn't know what to think, or do … so he was stagnant. The air was getting colder and colder every day … 

Luke pulled at the side of his face, "buy me breakfast!" He said. Clive nodded, "what do you want?" He said. Luke hummed, " Ice cream .." 

"For breakfast?"

"Yeah!" Luke said, messing with Clive's glasses. He was finally wearing them, Luke thought he looked really different, but he wasn't  _ that  _ different. He knew he could only poke him a certain amount of times before he reverted back to being mean again.

"You should eat something else- unless you wanna get diabetes-" 

"I'm not!" Luke whined, "I'm gonna be fine-" he huffed. 

"Either that or a cavity-" 

"Are you my dad or something now?" Luke asked. Clive resisted the urge to say, " No. I'm your boyfriend." He really, really resisted. Instead, he just settled on saying, "no- but I have to look after you." So he wouldn't be crying into his pillow from embarrassment later. Luke hummed, "it feels like you're my weird big brother-" 

"... Not that either-" Clive said, though, if Luke WAS his brother then he was sure he could have conditioned him to do nothing but love him all the time … yes, he's admitting to himself that he'd groom his little brother. He really … Couldn't help it- 

The thoughts were neverending, and they got worse every single day. " well then- I don't know- some toast? And juice-" Luke suggested, watching Clive go into one of the stores as he walked by. He didn't bother taking Luke off of his shoulders, letting the boy order whatever he wanted. 

Luke ended up getting french toast sticks, a bowl of grits and some bacon. It came with a little bit of fruit, and a lot of syrup. Clive didn't get anything to eat, just a cup of straight black coffee to jumpstart his heart. Then he'd be able to stay up all day. 

He stayed on his phone while Luke ate his breakfast, he was still getting texts from that person. 

_ I like french toast too _

_ And coffee _

_ We would make a good couple _

_ Would we make a good couple? _

_ We would make a good couple _

Clive sighed … a stalker … cool. They were always blowing up his phone, and … wait. This person sees all right? Why not ask them for advice? Surely they might know something. 

He hesitantly started to text back …

No- that's a stupid idea, sure they might know everything about what Clive was doing, but they didn't know a lick of knowledge about what he was thinking. It was the only safe space that he had left, he shouldn't give it away so easily. Though, he did need help, and this person did seem to know a lot about him. 

Still, was it worth risking his thoughts for? 

Luke looked up at Clive, and curiously watched him scroll through his phone … 

_ Sorry, that was weird huh? _

Clive shook his head in annoyance, before his attention was caught by Luke. "It's kind of like we're on a date …" he said. 

Clive just looked down … "yeah?" He said. 

Luke was almost scared of how depressed he looked. Clive usually turned all red when he mentioned it, he just wanted to mess with him a little, since Clive was always so mean. 

But it wasn't fun anymore. Clive was just sad now, all the time, and quiet too. He always looked like he had something on his mind. 

Honestly … Luke had just been trying to see if Clive was messing with him. He wasn't sure if Clive really liked him or not, and he still didn't know for sure. He was mature enough to notice Clive staring, but finding someone cute isn't the same as actually liking them. Plus, Clive does stuff with everyone, so who's to say Luke wasn't just going to be another statistic? 

Still … the other seemed genuinely sad right now. He seemed like he really wanted to date Luke, and that made Luke turn a little red, but he wasn't convinced. He continued to eat his breakfast in peace, quietly saying, "sorry." 

It was too quiet for Clive to hear though, so he just ignored it.


	18. Library

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clive cant figure out who's been making phone calls, and everyone seems to be interested in his glasses.

Luke watched as Clive was swarmed from all sides by an affectionate mob. There were a bunch of girls touching his face, messing with his glasses, all of them being students in his first period class. Dez and Dahlia were just sitting there,watching the whole thing happen. They had nowhere to sit Because of the mob, so they stood at the back of the class near the door, not too far from Clive. They looked equally confused as to why Clive wasn't fighting back, but Luke could tell he was enjoying it somewhat. 

It was a reluctant enjoyment, the way he "enjoyed" licking Luke. The way he sort of enjoyed Dahlia yelling at him, but wouldn't admit it. He'd probably die before he let anyone know. He was sitting in his chair, a random girl on his lap, another with her arms around his shoulders, two more at his sides. There were a lot more around him, but it didn't make much of a difference. Class hadn't started yet, so the teacher was neglecting to say anything to them, even as they started squishing Clive's face to get him to open his mouth. 

He refused, of course, but he didn't fight back much. Usually he would be quick to bite someone, or punch them, anything to keep them away. But- they were holding his arms so he couldn't move them, and impatiently whining at him to open his mouth. He just sat there quietly, being fondled ...

"He's going to bite one of them-" Dahlia said, and Dez shrugged, "that's kinda-"

"If you say it's hot i'm going to hit you-" 

"Well- what can we do?" He mumbled. They couldn't really do  _ anything _ , they'd probably be clawed to death by acrylic nails. Luke hummed … he thought for a second about what he could do, before walking over to the swarm. He figured they wouldn't hurt him, that'd be mean. They didn't pay him any attention, until he started to push them out of the way. He needed to make room if he wanted to get near Clive, holding his bag in his hand as he tried to break through them. "You're- sitting in my seat-" Luke said, watching Clive's face turn about five shades darker at the implication that he was just Luke's chair. He still didn't say anything, leaving Luke to fend for himself in the group of hissing girls. They seemed to just get closer, and it became apparent that Clive was being suffocated by padded bras. 

"Moooveeee!" Luke whined, continuing to push. 

Dez and Dahlia just … stood there in silence, watching the exchange happen. It wasn't until one of the girls shoved Luke a little that Clive finally opened his mouth, only to close it down on one of their shoulders. There was a scream, that turned into something like a moan- 

And then they all took a hasty step back as he continued to bite, shaking them off until they were all far away from him. Luke took the opportunity to attach himself to Clive, being picked up and held how he usually was. "Your hair is all messed up!" Luke whined, "I spend so much time getting you ready and you always end up looking like you rolled around in dirt!" he said, reaching up to Clive's head. Clive still didn't speak, just sitting there while Luke fixed his hair. He seemed sorry- sort of. He had a little guilty expression as Luke fixed his hair for him.

It was certainly much easier to deal with one small boy than it was to deal with twelve girls his own size. He started to consider the fact that even if Luke did grow, it'd happen slowly, and he'd have the chance to get used to him first .. wait that's kind of creepy-

Luke pulled his glasses off, and cleaned them as the other two pulled up chairs, finally able to sit down at their table. Dahlia dropped her bag beside the table, and looked over at the two … " so what made you finally get glasses?" She asked, and Clive huffed, looking away, "Dez …" he mumbled. He sounded upset, but that wasn't the case. He was just a little embarrassed about how it happened, and how he's so defenseless against Dez calming him down, and how the guy just HAD to be right all the damn time. 

Dez smiled, " I told him i'd date him if he did- but I had my fingers crossed-" 

"..." 

Dahlia snorted, and Clive sighed, leaving Luke to stare out into space at the fact that Clive wanted to date Dez  _ that  _ badly … and that he wasn't the only one Clive had feelings for. As he sat there, he started to wonder who else Clive liked .. 

"Sorry- sorry-" Dahlia said, shaking her head. She mumbled something like "hot mess." And Clive sighed, hugging Luke close. "You guys suck- Luke is my only friend now- he barely ever makes fun of me like that-" Clive mumbled. Luke hummed … he whispered, "I'll consider being your  _ best friend _ if you buy me lunch today-" 

" .. are you alright?" Clive asked. Luke shot him a look, "hm?" 

"It's just, you don't usually ask for stuff- did something happen?"

"It's not your business-" 

"So something  _ did  _ happen-" 

Dez immediately gasped, "  _ who hurt you- _ " he said, eyes burning with the rage of a thousand angry dads. 

Luke was quiet for a little while … before he quietly said, "My dad is sick." In the most monotone voice he'd ever spoken in. "I don't want them to have to pay for my lunch anymore, I want them to use their money to pay for his medicine- so he can be at my graduation …" Luke said … 

" _ That's so fucking dark oh my god _ -" Clive mumbled, and Dahlia shrugged. "you realize you have two friends who could pay for it right? Why didn't you ask us?" She said, figuring he might not have wanted to owe Clive anything. That'd be a sticky situation …

"Because i- don't want to rely on any of you for something like that-" He said. He was rubbing the fabric of Clive's shirt between his fingers … Clive figured he must be anxious, so he reached into his bag, having brought the frog along with him just because .. it reminded him of- you know what? Nothing, it was nothing. He handed it to him, and Luke immediately started squishing it around. 

"But why not? We're your friends- it's no problem-" 

Luke shrugged, " I don't know .. i'd like to- but- well- i was fine before i met any of you- and i'd like to be fine on my own-" he said. "Plus I don't think my parents would like it if i was begging for money- it's embarrassing- we can take care of ourselves-" Luke said. 

"Luke- that's … " Dahlia sighed, "well- then they won't have to worry about your lunch and stuff- we'll cover that-" she said. Desmond sighed, "I don't have a lot of money either- so I understand- but really though … take it from me, these two are spoiled- if you need something then there's no reason to not ask them. It'd be like looking at a huge pile of free money and saying "no-" it's insane-" he said … 

" You could have said something sooner-" Clive said. Luke leaned up against him, "well you're different- you're always mean to me so you owe me anyways-" Luke said. Clive just hummed, wrapping his arms around Luke. He rubbed his back, wanting to say, " but I've been good recently! And I'm getting better and I won't disappoint you and I love you and I'd give my life for yours!" But he just settled on rubbing on his back, nuzzling him. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Clive sighed, staring down at his phone as he made his way into the library. After their first few classes, Dahlia mentioned something about getting a phone call. She seemed pissed, saying it interrupted a very important part of her day, and if it ever happened again then she'd probably start ripping limbs off.

He was notably afraid, but it was the contents of the phone call that really bothered him. Apparently there was someone calling her, asking her questions about him. She figured it was because she had been around him too much, and now this weirdo knew she probably had information. 

Most of the questions were personal though, so she suggested it was probably just some weirdo who was into him, but too shy to say it. 

So Clive was going to the library, to see if maybe Aurora could find out who's phone number it was. She did a lot more than help out in the library, she was an assistant in the office like a few other students. It was really hard to be accepted, you had to submit an application and everything. 

But still, Clive walked through the opened Library doors, having never set foot inside his school's Library until a couple of days ago. The entire room was massive, and it had a very antique aesthetic. The room was mostly made from this rich, dark brown wood, lit with chandeliers that hung from the ceiling between towering pillars. There were books at just about every corner, shelves stacked one after another, and it was completely .. quiet. 

There was nearly nobody here, except for a few depressed looking kids, accompanied by the lingering smell of weed and disappointment. Clive walked right up to the counter, he was lucky, Aurora was right there at the front counter. She seemed to be completely invested in watching a ladybug crawl across the table, before it flew away, and she looked up. 

" ..  _ oh- _ " was her only response, Clive just went ahead and said what he wanted, "Someone's been calling my friends and asking for creepy shit- can you see if the number is on anyone's file at the school?" He asked. 

" .. " 

Clive started to worry that maybe he was scaring her, until he remembered that he'd gotten glasses, and a very noticeable prosthetic tooth. " You too? I thought you'd be the one person to act normal about this whole thing …" he said. She stood, "no- it's just- you look like a nerd .." she said, holding her hand out. 

" .. i huh-" 

"Oh- sorry- that's weird, i just meant you look really different. You should dress up as that- and then i'll go as a witch-" she said, taking his glasses off. 

" .. i- guess- but- can you look the number up?" He asked. She nodded, folding and unfolding his glasses. He scratched his neck, unable to understand why he got  _ that  _ reaction from her, just about  _ no  _ reaction from Dahlia other than a glance. Dez wouldn't stop kissing his cheek, and Luke did what most people did, trying to get him to open his mouth. 

He hummed, everyone sort of had a different reaction … still, he had just been WAITING for someone to call him a dork- he didn't expect it to come from Aurora though. 

"Um- let me see- i'm not supposed to go through the files like this but i'll do it if you do something for me-" she said. Clive immediately had a few ideas, so he just sighed, "what- you wanna go mess around in the broom closet or something?" He asked, mostly just being sarcastic. 

Until she said "yes." In her normal flat tone, shifting through the computer. 

"Wh- but- I thought you didn't like guys- or anyone-" 

" I don't … but that doesn't mean i don't want to try that stuff- i've never done it before so i just want to see how it feels .." 

"So then you just wanna use me-"

"Yes .. sorry- that sounds wrong now that i think about it. Oh. It's not exactly like that- i just- think you'd be a good chance to experiment- that doesn't sound very nice either- i'm sorry .." 

" … nah- i get it but- Well- i don't want to be your first time- and-  _ just a heads up but it's going to be painful if it's me _ -" 

"Painful?"

".. yeah- i'm not exactly known for being gentle-" 

"I .. see .. I don't care- it doesn't matter." She said, scrolling through the page. She looked at the screen, before leaning back in her chair, "well if you want the search results .." 

".. god- fine- but don't complain about it later-" Clive said. Aurora stood, and handed him his glasses, "I was going to wait until the party to ask, but for some reason seeing you with your glasses on-" 

"Dont- finish that sentence- I don't care .." Clive said. He followed her as she walked out from behind the counter. "Okay then .. you like guys, right?" She asked, and he shrugged. "i liked Henry .." he mumbled. 

"Henry?"

"Yeah-"

"King henry?"

"Yeah- the little bitch boy who thinks he's so above everyone until you shove him a little-" 

".. ah." 

" We were sort of together for a while- but then he broke up with me because …" Clive blushed, "personal- reasons-" he mumbled. 

The two made their way into the closet, anf Aurora flicked the light on. It was really dim, but it was just bright enough for them to see each other. 

Clive was amazed at how easily some people asked him for things like this. He was amazed at how often it happened. He was always fucking someone- somehow- without even wanting it .. 

"Why'd you ask if I like guys?" He said, back to the wall. Aurora just gave him a look .. 

".."

".."

" _ Aurora-" _ he said, and she looked down, "I wonder if mine's bigger .." she said. 

He didn't believe her at first, so he waited, having the luxury of watching her lift her skirt, just to pull her underwear down. The way her dick was, it made it hard to tell that it was even there- 

_ But it was there- _

"I- h- w h a t -" Clive asked, just staring at it. "Wait- now i'm confused- are you trying to fuck me or do you want to- oh my god-" 

"Turn-"

" _ No- _ what? Why didn't you say anything?"

"I asked if you like guys-"

"That's not the same thing! How was i supposed to know you .. w-wait" Clive mumbled, trying to wrap his mind around the situation .. 

She moved closer, and he moved back, "l-listen- " 

She shook her head, "if you don't like me anymore you can just say so-" she said. "I didn't know how else to tell you- but i figured just putting it all out in the open would be better than .. leading you on-" she said. 

" .. " Clive looked at her face, and he suddenly had a few different thoughts- the first - was of course- 

SHE HAS A DICK OH MY GOD WHY-

The second was- 

"She's showing me the most intimate part of herself and asking for acceptance. She obviously doesn't really know if she actually wants to do this or not, and she isn't going to make me do anything I don't want to do. She's been nice to me- and I do find her attractive still, even if we have the same thing." 

But the third thought- the most important one- was 

"I'm not sure if my ass is really ready to be ripped through again-" 

And that last one was the thing that really kept him quiet. Maybe this would be a way to cope with that- her dick was sort of … big. Maybe if she went slow then he could actually see himself enjoying it- 

"Enjoying being fucked in the ass i'm so fucking GAY-" 

Clive sighed, "i- it's not that I don't like you- it's complicated .." he said. She nodded, "I know about what happened- if you're hurting then it's fine- and I don't mean physically .." she said. "Something similar happened to me before- so i know how it feels to be treated like that- you just feel .. stupid- and - worthless- and-" she stopped … " none of it's true though- sorry- i'm not good at talking about this stuff and it's a little weird to think about it while i'm like this-" 

Clive held back the urge to break down and just tell her everything, but he held back, because it was just about the only thing that kept him sane, knowing that nobody else knew how it happened, how he cried or any other detail. He was gonna take that shit to his grave, but-

" .. so- i mean .." 

"If you're worried about it hurting- i'll go slow-"

"  _ Oh my god don't say that _ \- i've said that to so many people it's so fucking weird hearing it-" 

She smiled, "it's not that weird is it? Do you wanna touch it?" She asked, as if she was offering for him to pet her dog. Clive looked … 

"  _ Im not afraid of a dick, am i? _ " 

It twitched a little, and he flinched- 

He was indeed afraid of a dick. 

" It isn't going to bite you-" 

"You don't know that!" 

Aurora snorted, and took his hand, pressing it up against the protrusion. "It's fine- see? It likes you-" 

Clive was completely red .. it wasn't even hard and it was already that big- he could only imagine .. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Clive held Luke at his side, carrying him home in the cold. Luke was hugging him, underneath his coat for the maximum amount of warmth. It ended up snowing today, and Luke had worn shorts. He didn't think it'd be so cold, but he was happy he had Clive to carry him. It wasn't like Clive was gonna just leave him there though ..

Though, Clive smelled like sweat, so being carried around by him right now was a little bittersweet. 

"I should have looked at the weather forecast-" Clive said, and Luke shook his head. "I f-forgot how cold it was going to be-" he mumbled. Clive looked ahead, seeing a bench where the bus stop was. It would probably be a lot warmer on the bus, and it'd be faster than walking home. 

"Do you wanna take the bus?" He asked. Luke nodded, and Clive stopped, standing at the bus stop, not wanting to sit down on the snow covered bench. Luke had his legs wrapped around Clive's waist, and Clive was just quietly imagining that he was with Luke, and that they weren't at school, that they were coming home from work. Maybe they worked at the same place, so they could be together? So that Clive could walk home with Luke in his arms, and they could hold each other for the entirety of the day.

That's all he really wanted- a future where Luke was close to him. He didn't care if it was for a few hours a day, just as long as he could hold onto Luke …

He sighed, and waited for the bus to come. 

When it finally did, they got on, and Clive shifted Luke to sit on his lap, still covering him up with his coat. They both sat down, the only ones on the bus .. 

"It's so weird that it's snowing in october-" Clive mumbled, wondering what was going on with the sudden weather change.

Luke moved a little, he was so sleepy, head drooping as he laid on his human pillow. He'd been cuddling with his stuffed animals less and less, since Clive was always around. He just fell asleep much easier with him. 

" … Cwive …" Luke asked. 

"Mm" 

"Do you like anyone else besides me?" He asked. It'd been bothering him all day long, he just needed to get it out. 

" … I don't know." 

" What do you mean?" 

Clive shrugged, "I don't wanna talk about it. How was your day?" He asked. Luke looked up at him … 

"I missed you- where'd you go?"

".. t-the library-" Clive said, his voice cracking as he tried not to find Luke downright adorable. Not only that, but he'd been pretty loud. 

But hey- now he knew that there wasn't anyone at school with that number. 

Was it worth it? 

Uh … he certainly learned something new about himself today. 

"Well- did you have fun in the library?" Luke asked, getting a nod from Clive. "They have movies in there too- really old interesting ones- we … should watch one someday-" 

Luke hummed, and Clive leaned against him. "I'll bring you with me next time .." he said.

Luke squeezed him, his non verbal way of agreeing. Clive smiled … now he felt a little bad about earlier .. He felt dirty about it, tainted, he should … stop having so much sex. Maybe if he learned to say no he could learn to leave Luke alone. 

He sighed, Luke was asleep. Clive was happy it was barely the middle of the year. He had plenty of time left to spend with him. 

Plenty of time to get his shit together-


	19. Fluffy bunnies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke is all alone at the party.

Luke was somehow here alone. 

He didn't come alone, but he ended up alone, at the top floor of one of the complexes, sitting on the counter, eating out of a bowl of popcorn, dressed in a fluffy pink bunny suit. There was loud music playing, he could barely hear anything. He could still see though, looking at the bottles of booze on the counter … 

He set his popcorn down, and picked one of the bottles up, opening it. He smelled it, taking in the strong scent of alcohol, before tilting his head back as he began to drink. He didn't know why he suddenly had the urge to drown out all his emotions with some liquid painkiller, but he was certainly doing it. He didn't even know what he was so upset for, his dad was going to be fine, apparently he won the lottery again … 

Luke knew that wasn't true, and that  _ someone  _ had done something, but he didn't care. His dad was going to live, so he should be happy, right? 

But he wasn't, because he was alone. He'd spent all year trying to make friends, and it just felt like he didn't have any. Clive and Dez weren't his friends, they just liked to mess with him. Dahlia only wanted him to be a cheerleader, and Flora spent all her time with her sister now. He didn't really hear all that much from Lili, it was almost like she just … stopped existing. She was quiet most of the time now, Luke figured she must be a little heartbroken, but he couldn't even comfort her. He had no idea how, because he'd never had friends before. 

That's why he'd been so determined to make some, but he sort of failed …

Luke set the bottle down, and sat there on the counter, full of popcorn and liquor. 

He did manage to make  _ one  _ sort of friend. Clive- was sort of his friend, right? They spent all their time together, and they knew a lot about each other at this point. Clive was always there for Luke, even if nothing ever really happened. Luke found comfort in the idea that Clive could do anything for him, and he wouldn't have to worry about it …

He hiccuped. He came here with Clive, but the big idiot was nowhere to be seen. Luke was tired of being alone though, so he stepped down off of the counter, pushing through the crowds of people to try and go find his roommate. 

He walked out of someone's kitchen area, and into the hallway, looking at all the decorations before listening out for the sound of the other's voice. He couldn't hear anything, and he was starting to stumble a little. The music grew slurry and uneven as he walked, holding onto the wall, before making his way into a room. There were a bunch of people sitting in a circle, spinning a bottle around. 

They were all dressed as animals too. A squirrel, a dog, a cat, a mermaid, a dinosaur. Luke walked over to the dinosaur, and it greeted him warmly, "Hey there lil bunny! You wanna play with us?" He said. 

Luke just looked at him … he nodded, and mr Dinosaur moved over, making room for Luke's fluffy bunny body to flop down between him and a very sexy frog. 

He didn't know why he thought that about the girl in the frog costume, he was gay, but she was still pretty. He wondered if she'd like to be friends … 

The bottle spun, and the room began to feel warm, Mr Dinosaur was opening up a pack of something that looked like candy. Luke looked at it, infinitely curious about this strange object. Mrs Frog giggled, and Luke turned to her, she had some too, and she handed it towards him. 

It looked like a marshmallow, but it smelled funny … Luke still took it, and put it in his mouth, tasting a strange mix of sweet, sugary paste and … feet. 

He hummed, not liking it all that much if he had to be honest with himself. It didn't taste very good, but for the sake of being polite, he swallowed it. The bottle spun again, and Luke watched it go. 

"Are you playing with us?" Said a short little mouse. Luke looked down … "what are you playing?" He asked, and the mouse giggled. 

"Spin the bottle- you don't know about it?" 

Luke shook his head, and the room slowly began to spin. Everything looked like it was changing colors, Luke was staring out into space. 

"No-"

"Really? Well it's easy- you just spin the bottle and whoever it lands on, you two get to-" 

The last part didn't register, but Luke nodded anyways. Mr Dinosaur seemed to get a little nervous, watching Luke move to put his fluffy hand on the bottle. He swiped at it, and it spun around a little, making Luke feel dizzy. 

He watched it, as it stopped on himself …

"Aw- better luck next time!" The mouse said, and Luke tilted his head. This game seemed boring, so he got up, and walked out without saying anything. 

The group called for him, but he didn't reply. He wasn't here to play games, he was looking for his friend. 

He walked down the carpeted hallway, which to him, looked like a path in the forest with trees arching over it. The light was dim, it was night time, a full moon as he walked down the dirt path. 

He looked around, nothing but trees and greenery surrounding him. He felt a little afraid, but he kept walking, stopping for a second to peek behind a tree. 

He saw a witch, pretending to cast spells, swinging around a stick. She had a bright shiny gem on her forehead, the same color as her eyes. 

She was surrounded by a group of dogs, which, in reality, were just a bunch of cheerleaders who had decided to collectively dress as dogs. Most of them were in leotards with dog ears, and fur boots with paw accessories. Luke walked up to them, and the witch looked down at him. 

"Hello~" she said.

"Hi-" Luke replied. 

"You sound upset- and you look tired-" 

"I lost my friend-" 

"The mean one or the creepy one?"

" … um- the-" Luke stared at the ground …  _ they're both mean and creepy. _ "The- one with the gold tooth-" 

"Oh … um- uhh" She squinted, " last i saw him, he was in the room at the end of the hall, to the left- but they might be doing grown up stuff in there-" 

"Gwown up stuff?" Luke asked, rubbing his eyes. The great, mighty witch looked at him, and tilted her head. 

"Are you high?"

"I dunno..." 

" Aw … it should be safe for you to go inside, he's been rejecting everyone all night- it's really weird, must be a full moon." 

Luke nodded, feeling his stomach suddenly start to ache … he wondered if the moon had gone through its phases yet, he might have overlooked the time …

If he did, then he needed to get home, which was just another reason why he needed to find that gold toothed monster. 

He made his way out of the room, and back onto the forest path, walking all the way down. On his way, he spotted a goblin, an angel and a demon, a ninja, and … godzilla? 

The forest began to turn red, and shake as two elephants ran past him. He almost lost his balance, but he regained it as quickly as he could. He was still for a moment, arms stretched out as he tried not to fall down. He leaned up against the wall, and sighed, using it as a crutch while he made his way down. He was stopped by an astronaut, a curly haired astronaut, who was talking to him. 

" … whut-" Luke whined, unable to understand whatever alien language he was speaking. 

"I said! Are! You! Okay?!" 

"Stop! Yelling at me!" Luke said, falling backwards onto his butt. He sat there, ears drooping as he tried to process what he was feeling. He'd drank too much, ate too much, his stomach hurt so bad. 

" .. Lukey-!?" The astronaut asked, patting his head. 

Luke swatted at his hand, and got up. He swayed, and walked right past him, stumbling down the hallway like a homeless drunk man. 

He finally made it, standing at the end of the hall. The astronaut was still trying to tell him something, yelling at him. Luke ignored it, and shoved away the door, seeing him there. 

He'd dressed up as Spock from Star Trek, Something about wanting to look like a huge dweeb. He hadn't cut his hair or anything, but his clothes matched entirely. He was laying on a couch, high out of his mind, blowing smoke from his mouth, into the mouth of Henry, who coughed violently after the exchange. 

Luke watched them for a while … before he huffed, and walked over. 

Clive looked up, and immediately sat up, "Luke! What happened?! Are you okay?!" He asked, losing his buzz as he got off the couch. Luke held his arms up, and hit Clive in the legs, "You! Aren't! Supposed! To kiss! Other! People!" he whined. 

"Luke- i-" 

"Noo! You're MY friend!" He whined, being picked up by Clive, who immediately began rushing him out of the room. 

"What are you talking about? And why are you bleeding everywhere?!" Clive yelled. Luke went quiet … and looked down, a huge red stain in his pink suit … 

He stared, before tearing up, and immediately leaning over, vomiting up a yellow, chunky substance. 

Clive listened to him cry, running as fast as he could out of the building. They were so far away from home, but he didn't give a shit. 

Luke held onto him, crying, wiping his mouth on Clive's shirt before he started slapping his face with his fluffy paws. "noo!" 

"What do you mean no!?" 

"Put! Me down!" 

"Luke you are GUSHING blood!" 

"I'm not!" 

" Be QUIET-" Clive said, trying not to panic. 

He continued to run, ignoring Luke's pleas, feeling the blood begin to drip down his arms. He wanted to call an ambulance, but the thought of being expelled and separated from Luke was such a nightmare at this point that he was willing to take his chances fixing whatever this was on his own. 

"Luke-" Clive said, panting. Their dorm was in eyesight, but the weed was starting to kick in, and his mind was blanking out a little bit. 

"Mm" Luke responded, sniffling quietly. 

"Did you get cut? Are you hurt?" 

"Cwive- my tummy hurtss" Luke whined, legs twitching a little as he curled up. It really did hurt, he didn't understand why this was happening to him, he was fine just a minute ago. 

Before he knew it, he was back home. 

Clive didn't bother with the lock, he just twisted the doorknob, and it opened, because he knew he wouldn't be able to unlock it while high. He rushed Luke into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. He set Luke down inside the tub, and Luke started to squirm. He was drunk, hallucinating, high. Clive understood that he didn't want to be undressed, but this wasn't the time to give a shit. He unzipped the pink suit, and Luke held onto it, yelling "noo!" At Clive, who just yelled back. 

"Luke- you are going to die!"

"I'm nott!!" 

" _ There's so much blood! What do you mean you're not?! Just let go! Please- _ " 

Luke whined, losing his grip. 

Fuck it. 

He laid there, allowing Clive to undress him. He cried, and cried, and cried … and Clive grew more and more confused. 

He had expected to see a slash mark across Luke's body, but there was nothing. 

No marks, no cuts, no bruises, just .. Luke's hand, which was covering up what he had between his legs. 

He wasn't dying, he was just … on his period …

Clive sat there for a moment, before realizing that Luke had been trying to tell him that for the past thirty minutes, and that he had really just picked him up, dropped him in a bathtub, and ripped his clothes off without listening to anything he had to say .. 

Clive, very gently continued to pull everything off. He plugged the tub, and turned the bath on, letting it fill up with warm water. He sat Luke up, watching him slowly stop crying as he was met with the comforting feeling of warm water touching his legs. He started washing himself off, and Clive left him to it, taking the bunny suit with him, along with Luke's underwear. 

"Don't close the door!" Luke said, and Clive nodded, leaving it open. He looked at his washing machine, and wondered if he should rinse the blood off a little before he put it in .. .

His mind was going in circles, so he didn't bother rinsing it, he just put it in and started it, before washing the remaining blood off of his hands. He immediately stopped it, realizing that his clothes were also bloody, so he shoved those in too, grabbing some pajamas to put on. 

Luke had stopped the bath, and he was sitting in the tub, moving his hand through the water like a baby who hadn't ever been in a bath before. Clive tried not to look at him, or think about what he saw, because he was too high to think rationally, and now was NOT the time to have sex on the brain. He wondered how he never fucking noticed. All the vomiting, the many times he said his stomach hurt, how there was never a bump between his legs- how did Clive not ever stop to think that maybe Luke was just a  _ little  _ different ..

Once he was done contemplating that, he started to contemplate how gay this made him. At first, he wanted to think, "oh- well it's not gay anymore." But the more he thought about it, the more he began to realize, no- it's EVEN GAYER now. 

it's gay because all the fantasies he had about Luke involved Luke having a dick, and he was fully prepared to do whatever he could to make that dick jump for joy. Now that it was the opposite, he still thought of Luke as a boy- he couldn't mentally bring himself to think of Luke as anything else. Luke was just- cemented as a boy in his mind.

So now, all the new fantasies he had still made him feel gay- but not only that, everything he'd ever done with a girl started to feel gay. 

Everything is gay, his sexuality was such a fragile thing at this point, he didn't even care. He couldn't possibly be anymore bisexual than this. It didn't even matter anymore, what was the point in thinking about it?

… 

He stood, and walked over to Luke's suitcase. Back to the problem at hand, Luke must have pads or something in here right? Clive sifted through the clothes, pulling out a matching set of dark colored pajamas. He tossed them onto the bed, and continued to dig, pulling out a clean pair of underwear.

He knew it was clean because he smelled them, just to check ..

He finally found a plastic like bag, full of plush things. He picked it up, and pulled one of the folded up wads of cotton out, tossing it on the bed along with Luke's pajamas. 

Clive picked up the pile of clothes, and took it into the bathroom, where Luke was squeezing a rubber duck in his hands ..

"Are you okay?" He asked, and Luke quietly nodded … 

Clive sat down at the side of the tub … "I'm so sorry!" Clive immediately said, "I didn't know! I thought you were bleeding so- i'm sorry! I didn't mean to look and I'll forget i even saw so please don't hate me-" 

"Cwive-" Luke said, completely relaxed, eyes half lidded as he looked over at his disheveled, high, roommate. 

"H-huh?"

" .. y-you looked-" he said, squeezing water from the rubber duck, right into Clive's face. 

Clive flinched back, and wiped his face, "Luke- there's blood in that water!" 

"Hmf .."

"I didn't mean to look- I swear .." Clive said, bringing his arms down. 

Luke looked away, eyes welling up with tears, "it's okay .. do .. um- do you still … like me?" He asked. It was the only thing on his mind, and he wanted to know before he passed out. Clive tensed a little, "I mean- yeah …" he said. 

"I can't think- too well right now- my head is starting to hurt- but yeah i still like you .." 

"W-why?"

"What do you mean why?" 

" You should like someone else- I don't have anything- and I can't do anything- i'm just here .." Luke said, laying back. "All I do is make stuff worse- probably why I don't have friends-" 

" .. but I thought we were friends-" Clive said, leaning against the side of the tub. 

"You just wanna do weird stuff to me … and we don't have a choice but to stay together-" Luke said.

Clive hummed, "yeah- but i have other things i like about you-"

"Like what?"

"Everything-" Clive sighed. "I just like being around you- you scared the shit out of me … even when we first met, I thought you were so cute- but I was scared you'd hate me or something so i just- jesus- i'm gonna throw up wait-" 

"What's wrong?"

"I ate- fucking- mushrooms-" Clive said, backing away from the tub. 

Luke smiled, looking down at his rubber duck. His expression was soft, and he closed his eyes, turning a little red in the face. 

"Dummy .." he said, and Clive shrugged, " live a little-" he mumbled. 

" Do- you wanna touch me?" Luke asked. Now he was just being horny, which Clive immediately understood, but was also confused by. 

"You can if you wanna"

".. um- ask me again- when you're not high-" Clive said. 

"But I wanna do it now!"

"Doesn't your stomach hurt?"

"Yea- but still-" Luke whined. Clive looked away … "not right now- we can do it some other time- but not right now-" he said, mostly thinking of his most recent sexual experiences. He didn't wanna get involved with Luke and end up broken again, so they should at least wait until tomorrow, when the feelings settled, and they both weren't just talking out of their asses. 

"Cwive-i-i love you-" 

" …" 

_ Or maybe they could do it tonight- _

"I- don't say that- you're just high- are you done with your bath?" Clive asked, and Luke nodded. "Cwive kiss"

"Lukey-"

"Kissss"

Clive sighed, leaned back against the bathroom sink, watching Luke beg for kisses … he leaned forward, and kissed his cheek, picking him up from the bath.

He'd just have to make luke put his clothes on and go to bed, he was too tired for all this other stuff-


	20. Not your boyfriend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke insists that Clive is his boyfriend, but Clive doesn't really agree with that mindset

Clive stared out into space, holding Luke in his arms. The poor boy had another hangover, so Clive had rolled him up in a blanket, and sat down on the bed with him, hugging him tight, doing his best to keep Luke comfortable. Luke had asked him to sing, and at first he didn't want to, but after a while of begging, he started to do it, reluctantly whispering songs to Luke, making himself blush. 

Eventually he got over it, and he became comfortable enough to really sing to him. It was still embarrassing, but for Luke he'd do anything.

Speaking of Luke, He was half asleep, eyes cracked open as he laid there in Clive's arms. He couldn't go to sleep, he couldn't stop thinking about what happened last night. After Clive kept saying he didn't wanna kiss, Luke just broke down into sobs, proclaiming his love, chasing Clive around the room in his underwear until he got tired, and laid down on his bed, promising he'd be still if Clive came and cuddled with him so he could sleep.

He blushed a little … now that he was alright, he recognized that he didn't actually feel that way, and that he was really just lonely. He just wanted someone to hold him like this, and act like they care about him. He didn't have his parents to show him affection, and Clive was the furthest thing from a parent, but he was all Luke had ..

"Cwive .." Luke mumbled, and Clive stopped singing so he could listen. 

" .. I wuv you-"

"Please stop saying that-" Clive said. Luke had been repeating himself all day, Clive really couldn't take it anymore. Being bombarded with sudden affection should be considered biological warfare, right?

Luke huffed, "but why .." he said. He was just confused, after all this time, he finally returns Clive's feelings, and for some reason Clive doesn't accept them. 

"Because .. I don't know- I just-" 

"Cliveee-"

"I- I'm scared! Okay-? I like our relationship- I don't want it to get messed up-" Clive said. 

" … it won't-" Luke said, nuzzling him. 

His stomach suddenly growled, and Clive chose to use that to avoid the conversation. "Are you hungry?" 

"Mm" Luke said in agreement. Clive found it strange that Luke had picked up his habit of just making a noise to mean something. They both just went "hm" all the time now, and it was getting weird. 

"What do you wanna eat-?"

"Kisses-" 

"L-luke-" Clive sighed. Luke just kicked his legs around, "why nottt?!" He whined. 

"Because-!" 

Luke thrashed around, so Clive put him down, letting him wiggle around like a worm until he had rolled himself out of the blanket. He just laid there for a second, and Clive stared at him. Luke was only wearing a chest binder, and his underwear. Clive had to mentally stab himself to not think anything, he had such little self control. He didn't even know what a binder was until Luke told him, and he felt so stupid for thinking it was a sports bra this entire time. He'd seen Luke with it before, and just figured, "well he wears skirts so this isn't anything new-" plus he was already used to the idea because of Desmond's antics … 

"You done?"

Luke huffed, and curled up, pulling the blanket over himself. 

"Luke- what reason could you  _ possibly  _ have to like me? I'm always mean to you- most of the nice things I do are just to keep myself from getting expelled- I'm not smart- i'm not funny- we aren't even going to see each other next year- i'm going to graduate and you'll still be here. None of this is-"

"I don't care-!!" Luke said from underneath his blanket. 

Clive sighed, "I've never even held a relationship for more than three weeks- it's not going to work out-" 

"Yes it will!" Luke yelled, before groaning in pain. Clive reached out, and pulled the blanket pile towards himself. "I don't know why I like you- I just do .." Luke said. 

Despite his current state, he didn't want to be with anyone else. Just anyone wouldn't be enough, it  _ had  _ to be Clive. 

" .. Luke- I really don't think it's a good idea-" Clive said. Luke started to move, 

"is it because i'm too small?" He asked, and Clive was quiet … 

  
  


"I like that you're small- actually-" he said. Luke continued to squirm, until Clive put him down again, and he stopped. 

"What are you doing?"

"Hmm" Luke mumbled, kicking his leg out, pressing it against Clive's length, which immediately started twitching. 

Luke was only messing with him, but he pulled his foot back so fast, having not expected it to move. He sat up, and turned to see Clive with his legs completely closed. He looked like he saw a ghost, before he quietly put his head down on his knees. 

"Don't do that-"

" _ It moved-" _

"I- y .." Clive contemplated the fact that Luke had never seen a dick before, and mentally drooled at the thought of- 

He sighed, trying to stop thinking about it. Now wasn't the time for all of that. 

"I wanna see-" Luke said, moving back over to Clive, pulling at his legs. Clive pushed him away with his foot, "Why are you being so weird all of a sudden?" He said, keeping Luke down with his foot. Luke squirmed around like a turtle on its back, "Well- you saw mine! I wanna see yours!" 

"You've  _ already  _ seen it-"

"I wanna see it again-"

".. n-no" Clive said, groaning in frustration as Luke tried to get up. He eventually stopped, and laid there ..

" I bet you'd do it if I was anyone else-" he said, and Clive sighed. 

"I would- because I don't care about anyone else enough to restrain myself-" 

"But I don't want you to!"

"I don't care what you want … it's not something to just- do."

"But you do it all the time!"

"Because I'm a slut- with no standards .. you should only do it with people you really trust. I guess you don't have to  _ love  _ them- but you should at least be sure they don't have a disease or- they aren't trying to hurt you." 

".. do you have a disease?" 

"I have the ow-" 

"What's the ow?" 

Clive pinched Luke's leg, and Luke winced, realizing what he meant. 

"You're not funny!!" 

"Told you-" 

"Stop pinching me!" Luke whined, and Clive stopped, letting his leg rest on Luke's body. Luke sighed .. " I'm tired of you treating me like a kid-" he said, wrapping his legs around Clive's leg. " You aren't going to hurt me- i'm not made of paper-" 

"You're right- you're made out of sugar-" Clive said. 

Luke pulled at Clive's leg, shuffling his way underneath it, until he was close enough to put his foot against Clive's crotch again. 

"Luke-"

"Clive-" 

Clive huffed, and pulled Luke by his ankles until he was close enough to where Clive could grab him by his face. He hesitated … before setting Luke back down. Luke observed Clive's twitching appendage. He looked mad, "fine then-" Clive mumbled, and Luke watched him pull back the elastic of his waistband. He didn't expect Clive to start just- whipping it out … but he was surprised to see what was there.

  
  


" … it's- big-"

"It gets bigger- just wait" 

"It does?"

"Yea-" Clive said, feeling a little nervous as Luke reached out. All he had to do was  _ touch  _ it, and Clive felt pain in his stomach from how hard he was throbbing. Did he want this  _ that  _ badly? He sat still, feeling Luke poke at it until he was completely hard. 

It did get bigger. Luke wasn't expecting it to look the way it did, tracing his finger down a pulsating vein. Clive looked completely brain dead, just watching Luke poke at it. 

"Weird … " he said, before he stopped, and just stared at it … 

He blushed, and pulled back, fully realizing what he was doing. 

"Well don't stop now-" Clive said, grabbing Luke's hand, "or are you scared all of a sudden?"

"C-clive-" 

Clive put Luke's hand on the side of his length, knowing that he was about to regret this in a few minutes. Luke reached out, attempting to push him away, but Clive just grabbed that hand too, and did the same thing, Holding Luke by his wrists, forcing him to give a very slow handjob. 

Luke stared down at Clive's length, being pulled towards it. His face touched it, and he nearly screamed.

"Cwive!"

"Shut- up"

Luke whimpered, trying not to look. He felt weird, his heart was beating out of sync and his arms were shaking. He finally managed to pull his arms out of Clive's hands, but that didn't stop him. Clive picked up his legs, and forced Luke onto his back. He put his two legs together, holding them up in one hand by his ankles, sticking his dick between Luke's thighs. 

So long- he'd waited so long- Luke was covering up his face, twisting his body around, yelling at Clive to stop. 

"Luke-" 

"Noo!"

"Luke- look-" Clive said, pulling at Luke's underwear. Luke gasped, and screamed at the top of his lungs, kicking his legs around. "I'm gonna tell on you!!"

"No you won't- be still-"

"Clive stop!"

"I can't-" Clive said, flinging the fabric aside. 

Luke started to cry, closing his legs. For some reason, him laying there, looking completely terrified, crying his eyes out .. it was hot. 

Clive really had to stop and think. All that talk about not wanting to ruin their relationship, and here he was, dick laying against Luke's stomach, ready to just rip him apart. Just the thought alone had him dripping.

Luke's stomach- 

Oh- 

It just now sank in what he was doing, he should have stopped earlier- shit! But it's too late now, right? Fuck, no- he needs to apologise. Maybe Luke will forgive him if he does?

"Open your legs-"

NOT LIKE THAT- WAIT-

Luke complied, panting a little from all the crying. Clive looked down … Luke was so small. So submissive, his mind did a backflip as he thought of all the things he could make Luke do right now. He was so little- Tiny pussy, Clive's dick didn't look like it would fit inside, it probably wouldn't … 

"It'll fit-" he mumbled, pulling his hips back. his body was really just moving on it's own now, holding Luke's hips as he slid directly between his legs. It didn't go in, instead, it just slid forward, brushing across Luke's poor, untouched bean. The boy arched, and gripped the bed, clenching his eyes shut as he squeezed his legs around Clive's waist. 

"Noo! I'm going to get pregnant!" 

Clive tensed …  _ he didn't even think about that- _

"Fine then- get knocked up- I hope the baby looks exactly like me-" 

"C-clive!" 

Clive blushed, slowly starting to move. He felt hypersensitive, Luke just- felt too good. He was barely touching him, rubbing the base of his painfully erect cock against Luke's leaking crevasse. He was going to cum, he was really really really going to cum, before Luke- pathetic. 

He cursed himself, eyes closed as he reached down, deciding that Luke's pussy was just too powerful, and he'd much rather hump the side of his leg while he rubbed Luke. 

Luke moaning really drove him crazy, it was so loud, the way his stomach trembled, and his legs turned into noodles in his hands. He was about to explode any second now. Luke squirmed a little, "you're gonna- get the bed dirty! And- y-your hand!" 

"I- don't care-" Clive mumbled. 

"Stop it! it's embarrassing!" 

Clive sighed, letting his ring finger slip inside Luke, who immediately tensed, eyes opening to look at Clive while he slapped his hand. 

"Noo!!" 

"Calm down- and lay back." Clive said, watching Luke do what he said. He was so submissive, nervously staring down as Clive gently moved his finger around, listening to the sound of moaning, and the feeling of Luke's body flexing around his finger. He used his thumb to rub the outer parts, having mastered the art of making girls cum with just one hand, Luke shouldn't be any different right? 

Clive held onto his leg, kissing it, making Luke squirm around a little, hips twitching as he tried not to give away just what he was feeling. He was drooling, it was so hot. Clive could barely control himself, twitching alongside him, dick laying against Luke's leg as he became completely invested in his body. He watched the boy squirm around, before slowly relaxing, and then just laying there, as he held onto Clive's hand, humping his palm, rubbing himself against the rough texture of his fingerprints. 

Clive was nearly pissing precum at this point, letting it pool on the bed as Luke tightened around him, lifting his hips as he came. It was such an erotic sight, the way he arched, and moaned, and held onto Clive's hand, unintentionally pulling the finger deeper into him.

Clive winced, unable to hold it anymore. His dick was yelling at him, so while Luke laid there, Clive went back to rubbing against Luke's leg. He drizzled precum all over it, grinding against it until it all came shooting out of him, like someone had smashed a lotion bottle and shot the contents across the room. 

He shuddered, his body refusing to stop cumming for a few more seconds afterwards. It hurt, it hurt so much, why did it hurt so much?! He was hugging Luke's leg, not wanting to let go for as long as he had left on this stupid planet .. his dick was still twitching, but he was tired .. and they had to go to school tomorrow. How were they gonna spend all their time around each other if they were like this? It'd be too difficult, for Clive at least. He'd cum at the sight of Luke if it was physically possible. 

He pulled away, wiping his hand off on his bed. They'd just have to figure it out. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Clive walked alongside Dez, on his way to his first period class. When he woke up this morning, Luke was gone, but he left a note saying not to worry about it. 

Clive was, of course, worried about it. 

He was worried that Luke was going to tell someone what they did, or rather, what he did to him. He cringed at the idea, and he'd been on edge about it all day. 

He hadn't told Dez exactly what he did, but he fully got across the point that it was probably something that could get him expelled. Dez chose not to question it, but he did tell Clive that if he hurt Luke then he'd kill him. 

To which Clive replied, " r - right-"

The two made their way into class, but Dez stopped at the door. He backed away, letting Clive open it, feeling like something was about to happen. 

His suspicions were confirmed when the door burst open, and Clive immediately had to bolt before he was overthrown by the swarm of raging potential spouses. He almost tripped and fell, catching his balance, sprinting down the hall. 

Desmond just watched him go .. he sighed, and walked after the crowd, following the sound of Clive's screams. 

Clive didn't even bother to turn around, running into the stairwell, slamming the door shut as he began to run up the stairs. the door flew open, hitting the wall with a violent bang, and he felt dread run over him. 

He had to repeatedly yell at himself to not be afraid, to just keep running. He got to about the third floor, a swarm of girls still following close behind him. He tried to open the door, but it was jammed or something. 

" **_YOU PROMISED TO MARRY ME_**!" 

Clivd turned, seeing a girl with a  _ stapler _ in her hand. 

_ Oh god- _

"I! Don't! Know! You!" He yelled back, looking around. He ended up jumping over the side of the railing, climbing down the side of the stairs as quickly as he could without falling to his death. He hit the ground, and wheezed as he tried to catch his breath. He hadn't smoked in a while, but his lungs still hurt. 

He turned, seeing them all tripping over each other to get down the stairs. As soon as he saw that, he started running again, going outside, before taking a hard right turn down the other hallway. He spotted Dahlia, who immediately pretended like she couldn't see him, stepping out of the way of the sea of angry girls, and guys. Word must have gotten around that Clive liked both, because not only were there little boys running after him, but fucking  _ star athletes _ that he recognized as the top players of the school. 

Though, they seemed to be doing this less for the purpose of fucking him, and more for the purpose of snapping his neck for fucking their sisters. 

Which could lead to them fucking him if he was unlucky. 

He was barely faster than them, running on adrenaline as classroom doors burst open, and more people joined in on the chase. 

What was going on?!

Why was everyone so collectively angry?!

He forced a door open, and slammed it shut. He was outside now, able to feel the piercing glares of everyone around him. 

He slowly shuffled away from the door, before starting to run again as it broke open. 

He ran around, needing a place to hide. 

He burst through another building, and slammed the door shut, locking it behind himself. Dust flew from the old crooked hinges, and he panted, finally able to take a break. This building was empty, an unused space where he'd often come to smoke. People on the outside slammed against the doors, and he backed away from it, looking around for somewhere to hide. He coughed, and walked away from the door, just knowing that the building would be surrounded, and that they'd find a way inside eventually. Until then, he was going to try to savor his last few moments on earth.

He jogged his way up the stairs, listening to their creaking moans as he made his way around the building. He got to a hallway, which was full of old kids' drawings and quietly opened a classroom door. He looked around at all the little chairs and tables, and shuffled inside, hiding behind a teacher's desk. They'd probably find him here, but it was all he had for right now. 

He sighed, and laid down, coughing, wondering what was going on, and where Luke was. 

His phone had been blowing up this entire time, so he finally decided to check it. The room was dim, and dusty. It had old wooden floorboards that were illuminated in a very creepy way from the light his phone produced. He scrolled through his notifications. 

"YOU'RE DATING THAT LITTLE BOY?!"

"PERVERT"

"LIAR" 

"HE SAYS YOU TWO "DID IT"?!?!" 

"DIE DIE DIE DI-"

_ … _ ……….  _ PUKEY _ \- 

Clive clenched his teeth. Luke, he was gonna kill him, he was gonna wring his neck with his bare hands and make him piss himself. He growled to himself, just thinking of all the things he was gonna do, having horrible, murderous revenge fantasies ..

Clive took in a breath, and sighed, flinching at the sound of a door opening. 

He curled up, turning his phone off as he covered his head with his arms. 

"so- buddy- what did you do this time?" Dez asked, gently tapping Clive with his foot. Clive looked .. he sighed, and sat up, hitting his head on the desk. "Ow-" 

Dez snorted, and pulled him out, "I didn't do anything! Luke is telling everyone we're a couple and now everyone is mad at me and they're calling me a freak and Dezzzzzz-" Clive whined, hanging off of Dez's shoulders. 

" … well- is it true?"

"N-no .. not- not exactly-" 

"What happened between you two?" Dez asked, sitting Clive down on the desk like the little boy he was. 

"I- nothing-" Clive said, looking away as he straightened his collar. 

"It's not nothing- come on- you can tell me, right?" Dez asked. He looked like he was worried, but that was probably just because Clive didn't usually keep secrets from him.

Clive just shrugged, he really didn't know if he should tell  _ anyone  _ what he did. He just felt dumb about it, but he also didn't feel like Luke would want anyone to know about his … parts. He figured Luke was keeping it a secret, so he should too. 

"Well .. can you tell me  _ something _ ?" Dez asked. Clive sighed, "Um- the night we went home, from the party- Luke and I sort of ended up confessing to each other?" Clive said, scratching his neck. 

"Well, good for you!" 

"But- the next day- we sort of started- messing around? I guess- we didn't do it completely but- I guess now he's telling everyone about it- but I don't know why-" Clive whined. "I thought he'd be too embarrassed to say anything- what if this gets back to the teachers, or the principal? I'm- screwed!" 

"Calm down- you-" 

The sound of loud banging caught them both off guard, and Clive got up, pacing around like a cornered animal.

"Why don't you just start fighting? I know it's a lot of people but i'm sure you can take it-" 

"You want me to beat up a bunch of girls? No-! Just get me out of here!" 

"Well they-"

"No- Dez. No- you can not convince me to do it. I won't- I  _ refuse _ -" 

".. that's because you're sexis-" 

"I don't CARE- I'm going to  _ Die  _ in here-  _ Help Me! _ " Clive said, shaking Dez a little. He really didn't feel like now was the time to discuss their different moral compasses, even if Clive's was often severely broken.

"Fine fine- jump out the window and i'll hold them off-" 

Clive looked over at the window … "uh-" 

"Scared?" Dez asked, just knowing which buttons to press.

"No-!"

"Then fly- fly like the wind young dove- and remember to land on your back-" 

"..." Clive sighed- okay- three story fall- it'd be fine- 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Luke looked up, watching Clive walk into the gym during practice. He looked so dead inside, but when he saw Luke, he went cold. Luke could feel his murderous rage, and he tensed up a little, messing up their new routine by standing still. 

Dahlia sighed, and everyone stopped, "Okay- that's fine- wanna try it again?" She asked, and Luke didn't reply …

She turned, seeing that Luke and Clive were having a staring competition. 

Clive turned, and walked back outside, Desmond immediately getting up to follow him. 

Dahlia just stared, and Luke ran outside after the two, "S-sorry- I gotta go!" He said, leaving them in the dust as he ran across the gym floor. 

His shoes audibly squeaked, coming to a halt as he pulled at Clive's sleeve, and everyone witnessed Clive pick Luke up by his neck, and slam the door shut. 

There was a long period where everyone could hear his voice, but not understand a word that was being spoken. 

"Is- is he going to be o-" Aurora said, before stopping as Luke's scream filled their ears, before it was muffled by something. 

".. s-should we help-?"

" _ Do you wanna be next _ ?"

"Oh- well- uh-" 

They all anxiously stood there for a while, listening to what sounded like a fight, but it was a little hard to tell. Luke was making some pretty questionable sounds, before he went quiet, and Dez suddenly came back inside. 

"Sorry- uh- where's his bag?" Desmond asked, and Dahlia just … "i-it's in the locker room- on the floor-" 

"Alright- thanks- um- if he doesn't show up for a few days don't worry- he's fine-" Desmond said, running off to go get Luke's bag. 

Meanwhile, Luke was covering his reddened face, having been smacked around a little too much. Clive was shaking his hand off, "I can't fucking believe you-" he mumbled, and Luke broke down into tears. "You're so mean!" He cried. 

"I don't care-"

"I was just- happy-" Luke sniffled, "I wanted people to know we're together so they won't go after you anymore- you didn't have to hit me!" He said, "i just- nn-" he started crying again, but Clive ignored him. 

"Keep crying and I'll give you something else to cry about-" He said, listening to Luke suck his tears back up. He glared at him, before scoffing, "If you wanted people to stay away from me- you could have just told me that instead of telling the whole school I fucked you- which-  _ we didn't _ !" 

"We didn't?"

"No-!" Clive said, and Luke sniffled, standing up. He wrapped his arms around Clive's leg, "I'm sowwy-!" He whined, "i didn't mean to- don't break up with me- pwease-" he said, and Clive looked at him .. .

" I never said we were dating in the first place- I don't know where you got that idea- but it's a lie." 

"B-but" Luke said, "I really like you-"

"No you don't- you're just bored or something- either that or it's just a crush- you'll get over it-" Clive said. 

Luke shook his head, sticking to his leg, "I'm not going to let go until you say it-"

"Say what?"

"That we're dating!"

"I'm going to kick you in your stomach." 

"I don't care- you can be as mean as you want but I know none of it's true- you're just scared i'm gonna leave- but i'm not going anywhere!" Luke said. 

Clive stood there for a second … he shook his leg, and Luke whined, holding onto him. 

Fuck- Luke was right, But Clive would be dammed if this lasted more than a few days at most. If Luke wanted to experience hell, then Clive was gonna put him through it. 

Anything to get him to see how insufferable he really was, anything to kill what little hope he had left. Clive just, didn't wanna be responsible for crushing him otherwise ..


	21. Table

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke gets a new table for their room.

Clive tried to take his own notes, but his handwriting looked like the clawings of a schizophrenic chicken on meth. Still, doing it himself would be better than having Luke do it, anything to get them apart. 

He didn't know how he ended up this way. He wanted to be with Luke so bad, but now that he had the chance, he couldn't do it. Not only was he rejecting him, but all the niceness had completely disappeared. He sighed … What was even the point of taking notes? He was just going to fail anyway if he couldn't read it. Either that or he'd have to beg Dez to teach him again. 

He didn't wanna do that, Dez was so happy that Luke was taking notes for him, he finally had free time. It wasn't like Clive couldn't study on his own, it was just that he didn't understand anything if it wasn't being said to him. He could read just fine, he just- could not comprehend it ..

Luke reached out, and took the pencil from him. He wondered how long Clive would struggle for before he gave up. 

Clive looked mad at first, but he eventually just let Luke do it, moving him to block the view of his phone like he always did. 

Luke had come to realize that Clive had no control over his emotions, or himself. Clive would go back and forth between being desperately in love with Luke, and apologizing for all of the terrible shit he was doing, and begging Luke not to leave him- 

Then he'd get scared and do a complete 180. He'd yell at Luke until he cried, and not let the boy anywhere near him for fear of his affection. Luke had just come to accept that … that's just how he is, probably. Terrified and confused, all the time.

His apologies were always confusing, because he stressed that he didn't know why he was doing all of this, and he wants to stop, but he just can't. It won't happen, when he tries to calm down he just wants to hit something and Luke is always the nearest thing. Luke is the fountain from which all of his current problems spill from, and he just- wanted to destroy it. 

But he couldn't, because for some reason, no matter how hard he bucked, he couldn't get Luke off of him. Luke was here to stay, and Clive found  _ some  _ comfort in that idea ..

"I'm sorry-" Clive mumbled, leaning against Luke, his face in the boy's slightly messy hair. They'd gone through the love hate cycle about three times this morning, and they were almost late because of it. Luke didn't reply, feeling Clive gently brushing his hand across the bruise on his leg.

"It's okay-" Luke said, leaning back, resting on his chest. He could feel Clive's heart beating, and the way it sped up when he wrapped his arms around Luke. The teacher had finally stopped talking, so now they had time to just sit there, and try not to seem like they were feeling eachother up. 

Clive sighed, and Luke started to doodle on his papers. Clive didn't really pay attention to it all that much. It was the least of his worries if Luke wanted to scribble stuff in his notebook .. plus, if it kept him quiet, then that was even better. 

He looked down at his phone, having turned off all the push notifications. That person was texting him now .. honestly, he'd almost forgotten that they even existed. 

" _ So .. is it true _ ?" They asked, and Clive stared down at his screen for a long while .. 

"Is what true?"

_ You know what- _

"I don't." 

_ Are you with that boy now? _

"No." 

_ But he's drawing a picture of you two together _ -

"..." 

Clive looked over Luke's shoulder, seeing that Luke was busy scribbling two blobs, one with spiky hair and another with bunny ears .. Clive blushed, but- 

"So you're in the room?" 

_ … what makes you say that? _

"BECAUSE YOU CAN FUCKING SEE MY PAPER?" Clive typed in all caps, looking around the classroom. Most people were busy taking notes, or bothering their smaller roommates. 

_ No, I'm not in the room. I can see through your front camera _

" What. Do. You. Want?" 

_ Nothing much. Just to chat- that's all. How are you doing? _

"Listen, man- you're creeping me out. I don't know you, I don't know anything about you, why would I ever want to talk to you?" 

_ Not much for conversing with an acquaintance? _

"I . Don't . Know . You ." 

_Sure you do .._ _you just don't remember, I bet._

Clive sighed, feeling Luke tug at his shirt. "Look- look it's us-" he whispered, showing Clive the notebook scribble ..

"Gross. I'm not your boyfriend." Clive mumbled, and Luke looked away for a second, mumbling a quiet little, "yes you are." feeling a little sad at the fact that Clive didn't like his drawing. He continued to scribble on the paper, and Clive looked down at his phone. 

_ Would you like to guess? _

"Why don't you just tell me?"

_ Because I want you to guess- _

"Fine. Can you at least tell me something about how you look?" 

_ … I've got brown hair _

" .. Something more specific- have we ever done anything together?"

_ No _

"So then I have no idea who you are." 

_ You- do you screw everyone you meet? _

" Yes." 

_ … we met in kindergarten, and we've been going to the same schools this entire time. How do you not know who I am? _

" I don't care, is how. You could be the queen and I wouldn't notice you-" 

_ …  _

The messages stopped, and Clive hummed, hoping he'd annoyed the person enough to where they'd leave him alone. 

Luke tugged at his shirt again, so Clive looked down, seeing the updated drawing from him. "Is this better? It has our house- and our dog-"

"Luke- what-" 

"When we live together- I wanna name him Ralph- do you like it?" He asked, "Is it at least better than the other one?" He said, and Clive sighed …

"It's cute- you should stick it to the wall when we get home." He sighed, fully meaning every word despite the fact that his brain was crumbling as he spoke. 

Luke seemed happy to hear that, whipping out his pack of color pencils before he got to work on drawing. Clive watched him color …

Why'd he have to be so cute? 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Clive carried Luke on his shoulders, heading towards the gym. It was cold outside, and Clive had neglected to notice the fact that Luke was wearing a skirt today. 

It wasn't important. It didn't matter, except for when Luke was squeezing his bare thighs around Clive's face ' _ for warmth _ .' Clive didn't bother to tell him to stop, this was oddly relaxing, but he was sure he must look stupid with his face mushed around between Luke's thighs. 

"Clivee-" Luke whined, shuddering as he wrapped his arms around Clive's face. 

"Luke- I can't walk if I Can't see-" 

"I'm gonna guide you- just go forward-" 

Clive cringed, "you're going to send me into traffic- and then we're both gonna die because i'm not letting you go-" 

"Wha- no I won't!" 

"I don't trust you-"

"But why not? I trust you-" 

Clive sighed, "that's your fault then." He said, and Luke hummed .. 

"Please?"

"You just wanna play, don't you? We can play later- let's at least get to the gym first." Clive said, and Luke nodded, "so walk straight-" 

"Luke-"

"Why are you always acting so serious? I wanna play!" Luke said, squeezing his legs tighter around Clive's face. 

Clive tried to get him to stop, but it was hard to get through to him when he was just squirming around going "I wanna play I wanna play I wanna play!" While crushing his face with his knees. 

Clive grabbed him by his legs and shoved him back until he was hanging upside down off of Clive's shoulders. 

Luke whined, "stop it my skirt is coming up!" He said, trying to keep it down. Clive dropped him, and turned, about to start yelling before his phone buzzed in his pocket. He looked at Luke, who was groaning on the ground, legs open, exposing a solid red pair of briefs … 

Clive kicked his leg until it closed, before taking out his phone. As Luke regained his ability to move, Clive looked to see that person sending him his own nudes. 

_ Meet me at the library right now or i'll send these to everybody _

"Everyone already knows." 

_ What? _

"If you want to blackmail me, you need to try harder-" 

_ … _

Clive stuffed his phone back in his pocket, getting nothing but silence again. Luke was standing up, rubbing his back. 

"You still wanna play?" 

"N-no …"

"Good boy- now let's go-" Clive said, holding his hand out. Luke lifted his arms up, "carry mee-" he said, getting nothing but a sideways glance from Clive. 

"I wont mess with you!" Luke promised, smiling as he was picked up. Clive didn't understand why he was so happy to be carried around like this, he figured, at some point, getting hit so much would make you not like the person hitting you, right? 

But no, Luke just continued to declare his love, every single chance he got. He mostly wanted Clive to carry him because he was cold, but Clive also just seemed to soften up when he was holding Luke. He'd be less angry, which was good. 

"You shouldn't drop me like that anymore-" Luke said, and Clive started to let him slip. 

"Noo!" He whined, holding on for dear life. Clive wasn't even holding him, continuing to walk with his hands in his pockets as Luke tried not to fall. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Luke listened to Dez talk, having been pulled from gym, into the locker rooms to talk. At first, Luke thought he was going to get molested, but then he remembered all the many many many many many times Clive told him that Dez would never do that. 

And even though he trusted Clive, he didn't know how much validity that statement held, when Clive was pretty capable of doing something like that. Who's to say his best friend wouldn't be in on it? But no, turns out, this was just initiation for being Clive's boyfriend. 

Luke sat on the bench as Dez stood in front of him, speaking clearly, concisely, and quickly.

"Do NOT tell him I told you any of this, alright? He'll get mad at both of us- but this is  _ critical information _ -" Dez said. 

Luke just nodded. 

"I'm not going to be around forever- if he decides to stick with you, then it's important that you know how to tame him- and that you pass this information on to  _ ANYONE  _ he dates after you- if not- then we will never be able to clean up the blood-" 

Luke nodded, starting to get a little scared. 

"The very first thing you need to know- and the most important thing- is that  _ no matter what happens _ \-  _ do not.  _ And I  **can not stress this enough** \- do  _ not  _ let him overpower you- do not let him be the "alpha"- do not let him boss you around-" 

"... But he already does-" 

"Then stop." 

"But why-?"

"Because if you don't- then he'll never calm down when you tell him to- he won't listen to you- and he won't ever get too close either. If he thinks he's better than you- which he probably does, then he'll just act out whenever he wants because he won't be worried about what you think- not only that- but if you get into the habit of letting him dominate you- then you can expect him to try- other- less than nice things-" 

" .. ohh-" 

" And if that happens- then you'll probably just end up being something for him to play with- and you don't want that." Dez said. Luke nodded, and Dez adjusted his glasses, "and- if he gets aggressive with you- then you get aggressive with him- never-  _ ever  _ let him just overpower you-" 

".. h-how am I supposed to fight him?" 

"Don't worry- the point isn't to win- the point is just to show that you aren't going to roll over for him. If you're too submissive then he's just going to assert himself over you all the time. He won't bother if he knows he's going to have to deal with you struggling- so put up a fight." 

"I- I see .."

"The second thing- don't give him too much attention, don't spoil him. If he whines- ignore him, he'll eventually stop- it's fine to hug him as much as you want- or hold his hand or whatever you two do- but just … don't- spoil him-" 

"That sounds mean- won't he get sad-?" 

"No- he'll start to understand that he has to earn affection, and that it won't just be handed to him. Everyone always gives him everything he wants, he can fuck anyone he wants- have anything- and do anything. What reason does he have to be with specifically you? Especially when there are other people willing to do anything for him?" 

"B-because he likes me?"

"Wrong- because he's  _ rewarded  _ with affection, rather than being smothered in it. He gets more out of being rewarded, it feels better to him, it's satisfying. I'm not saying you have to withhold love from him, or ghost him or something, but make him feel like he deserves it, rather than just giving it to him. And do NOT let him buy it from you. You are  _ not _ a prostitute- and he  _ will  _ try-"

Luke sighed, all of these rules were starting to sound really complicated and mean. 

" Okay- now- whenever he gets into a fight- or he gets angry- it's important that you calm him down  _ immediately _ . Let him incapacitate the other person, or at least knock them down so they won't try and beat him up while you're calming him down. Then, you grab his arm, anywhere above the elbow- and squeeze. Squeeze as hard as you can, it doesn't matter if it hurts him, in fact, it works better if it hurts from what I know." 

"But I don't wanna hurt him!" 

"Well he sure as hell has no problem hurting you- He's  _ always _ beating you up. This right here is why. Do you want it to stop?" 

"... Yeah but … yeah-" Luke said, and Dez nodded. 

"Grab his arm, pull him back, and if you can reach his head, just run your hand through his hair. If you can't, then rub his back- and don't say anything- just go "shhh" until he starts getting tired." 

"Does that really work?" 

"I mean- I do it to him all the time so yea-?" 

Luke stared at Dez in amazement, listening carefully. 

"You might get hit- but that's okay. He's probably going to try to shake you off, but that's okay too- don't stop until he's calmed down. If he did hit you, then he'll apologize later on- that's the perfect time to give him all the affection you wanna give him- but as soon as the next day rolls around? back to normal. No acceptions. Ever." Desmond said. 

Luke nodded. 

"Um- what else- oh- occasionally- it's good to just tell him he's stupid." 

"W-what?" 

"Listen- I know that sounds mean- and I don't know why this works, but for  _ whatever reason- _ if you just randomly say he's dumb- then he'll act significantly less dumb. I guess he gets self conscious- and it makes him pay attention? But it wears off after a while .. if he does something smart- then it's fine to be proud of him- or praise him- but if he starts acting stupid- then just tell him he's stupid." 

"H-how do I just-  _ tell _ him he's  _ stupid _ ?"

Dez shrugged, "usually I just remind him of something embarrassing he did, like the time he got his hair stuck in a printer because he thought he could dye it like that-" 

Luke snorted, and Dez smiled, "or when he first got here- and he was really shy- so he just went around yelling that he was a terminator from the future." 

"He's so cuteeee!" Luke whined, kicking his legs around. "He likes that kind of stuff- he doesn't read much besides comic books and stuff like that- but I don't either- so." Desmond shrugged. Luke nodded, and Dez sighed, "alright- that's it for the most part. Just a few other things- he'll do anything for sex- I don't know why it's always on his mind- he's always been like that- but if you ever just want something stupid like new clothes- then a kiss on the cheek is enough to give him the motivation to buy you anything.  _ Don't ever offer to have sex with him- _ but just put the idea in his head- and he'll do whatever you want-" 

"That seems like- i'm just using him-" 

"You're forgetting the fact that he's using you- and your body- most of the time without your permission. He's rich, buying you a new pair of shorts won't dent his bank account- hell- buying you a fucking  _ house  _ wont even scratch the surface-" Desmond said. Luke tilted his head, before looking down at the floor … " but I feel bad- shouldn't I at least let him-" 

"No. Not unless you want him trying to buy sex from you all the time-" 

Luke hummed, and Dez sighed, "you should also keep a close eye on him- make sure he's brushing his teeth and stuff every day-" 

"This is a lot of stuff to worry about!"

"If it's too much then by all means, back out now before he gets attached-" 

"...  _ I wuv him _ -" Luke mumbled, crossing his arms. 

Dez shrugged, "He won't eat anything slimy- he's afraid of snails- he likes spicy stuff and if he's got something in his mouth that he's not supposed to have- don't let him swallow it-" 

"Is he- a dog?"

"Sort of." 

"Cute …" Luke mumbled...

"I think that's all- so- if you aren't turned off by all of this, then have fun with your gently used Clive-" 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Luke stirred the pot of ramen, deciding to just make something cheap and quick today. He'd dumped three packs of instant ramen into a pot of broth, and cut up some meat and vegetables to go inside. Clive seemed tired when he got home

But- 

Miraculously- 

Using the techniques Dez taught him, he actually got Clive to clean up without him complaining about it. 

He was asleep now, sort of. He was laying on Luke's bed, having gotten tired of choking his massive bunny. Luke didn't know why he started fighting his stuffed animals, he just assumed it was the same as when a dog chews up a couch cushion. 

Though, Clive didn't actually break it, just aggressively cuddled it when he was done cleaning. Luke was so happy he finally understood Clive a little more. Dez had forgotten to tell him about Clive's facial expressions, but Luke sort of ended up figuring those out on his own. That, and his body language, especially right now. The way he was laying down told Luke that he was listening to him, probably thinking about something, but he wasn't willing to act on it right now, so he was just laying there, probably halfway asleep by now. 

"It's doneeee-" Luke said. It didn't really take him that long either. He moved away from the stove, picking up bowls from the bottom cabinet as Clive came over. They'd been eating on the floor lately, after they spilled food on Luke's blanket and Clive had to explain why, no, it would be a horrible idea to use the school's disgusting laundry room. So Luke had to sleep under Clive's blanket, which really just turned into him being wrapped up and cuddled every night.

Luke sat down on one of the pillows, his bowl resting on the floor while Clive got his own, leaving a little bit left in the pot. It'd probably just turn into Luke's lunch for tomorrow, if he felt like eating it. 

"You should get a table-" Luke said, twisting up his noodles with his fork. Clive hummed, "what- like a tiny plastic one? Cause I don't think a normal table is going to fit in here-"

"Of course not-" Luke said, before gasping, "You can get a whole tea set with a table and chairs and everything! There's this one that I've always wanted- it's a white table with a pretty cloth and- we can get teacups and teapots and have tea parties! And-" 

Luke started to rant, Clive just listened to him, leaning against the counter as he ate. Luke seemed to be a little too excited to get that table, in the middle of his rant, he just sort of started saying weird things. 

"I- I'll be still while you touch me if you get the table! And put it together-! I won't move and I won't cry and I won't tell  _ anyone! _ " He said. Clive hummed .. 

"Beg harder-" he said, and Luke went red, "w-what?" He said. 

"If you want it then beg harder-" 

"W-why?"

Clive shrugged, "I just wanna see it-" he said. 

Luke huffed .. he wasn't supposed to be begging at all, but he really wanted that table. 

"P-please- I'll do whatever you want for a whole day-" 

"Hm-"

"Th-three days?"

"Hm."

"A week?" 

" Warmer-"

"Two weeks!" 

"A little more-"

"A- a month?" 

"Deal-" 

Luke whined. He wasn't too good at being assertive. "If you start whining or you tell anyone- then the deal is off." Clive said, and Luke nodded. 

This wasn't how it was supposed to go. 

"What table are you talking about? I'll order it now-" 

"Really?" 

"Yea-" Clive said. Luke could tell he was plotting something, but still, he got up, going over to Clive's bed, picking up his phone. He looked around online for the table he was thinking of, all the while eating his food, which had cooled down significantly. 

" if there's anything else you want- just go ahead and get it-" 

"Really?" 

"Mm- it'll make up for the next month-" he said, as if Luke was about to go missing for a while .. 

He wanted to say no, and take Dez's advice, but he didn't. He ended up filling Clive's ebay  _ and  _ amazon shopping carts with stuff, but he didn't check out just yet. Clive asked to add some stuff, so Luke let him, not getting to see what he ordered before he checked out. Luke continued to eat, Clive was washing his own bowl out for once, and when Luke got done he washed that one out too. 

"Do you wanna take a bath with me?" Luke asked, and Clive shook his head, "not yet- come here-" 

"Why?" 

"Because I said so- It starts now." He said, and Luke … quietly got up. He shuffled over to Clive, being picked up by him, and held onto like he usually held him when they were walking. Luke had expected Clive to bite him … but they were just hugging. 

He let his arms wrap around Clive's shoulders, getting comfortable as they stood there in silence. Luke felt like he could hear what Clive was thinking, or feel what he felt. It was this really strange, but really strong feeling of longing. It was like he wanted something, and he was trying to squeeze it out of Luke. 

He wasn't squeezing him hard by any means, but he was holding on tight. Comfortably tight. 

Luke hummed, nuzzling him, " we can cuddle in the bath-" he said, and Clive looked at him- 

"I'm not cuddling you-" he said. 

"What are you talking about-?" Luke asked, before feeling the hand that was on his back, move further down. "I just like feeling your chest on my chest-" he said, referring to the fact that Luke wasn't wearing his binder today. Luke blushed, and pulled away, "I thought you were being cute! You pervert! They aren't for you!" He whined, and Clive looked down at him. He lifted Luke up, and kissed him. 

Their first kiss-

Luke freaked out immediately, and tried to pull away, but Clive held his face still, forcing him to open his mouth. He stuck his tongue in, of course, being greeted and rewarded with sweet tasting saliva, probably the result of Luke's candy eating habit. Clive shoved their mouths together, and Luke closed his eyes, slowly giving up on his struggle as he was carried over to the bed. Clive pulled away, and Luke gasped, being laid down like a baby. He panted, mouth tingling for some reason. He always thought their first kiss would happen by accident, and it'd be a really cute moment, not that he'd be laying on Clive's bed, trying to be still while Clive trailed kisses down his body. 

"If we get rid of one of the beds- we can have a real table- instead of a small one-!" Luke said, and Clive nodded. He'd probably throw out his own bed, since Luke's bed was bigger anyway, and softer, and Luke would probably be more comfortable fucking on it than he would in Clive's bed. it'd just be easier for them both, plus- 

"I guess we don't need separate beds if we're dating anyway-" he mumbled, head resting between Luke's legs. He stuck his face underneath Luke's skirt, but Luke was too busy focusing on the fact that Clive said they were dating. 

"You said it! You- nn-!" Luke gripped the pillow behind him, and closed his eyes as Clive's tongue licked up the slightly damp fabric between his legs. 

Luke had a little trouble not being excited when he was near Clive, he tried not to let it show, he was new to these feelings, but he was often cold between his legs. 

Clive had only really said that to make Luke relax a little, so he wouldn't cry as they continued. Luke was more focused on the fact that he had a boyfriend, and the tongue between his legs. He wasn't thinking about what might be about to happen, and that was perfect. He didn't need to think about it until it happened, Clive wanted every moment of compliance he could get before Luke freaked out again.

He pushed the fabric to the side, and Closed his mouth around Luke's bean. He was off his cycle, so Clive was much less worried about staining their sheets. He sucked, and Luke squealed like a confused piglet, bucking his hips up into Clive's mouth on reflex. Clive grabbed his hips, and picked them up, holding onto Luke as he licked away at him. Luke was just about upside down now, legs around Clive's shoulders, thighs squishing his face as he was overstimulated to the point where he didn't know  _ what  _ he was feeling. 

He moaned, and Clive stopped for a second, uncomfortably hard by now. He looked down at Luke, and thought for a second about what to do .. he let Luke lay back down against the bed. The boy didn't get up, he'd been severely weakened by now, and he doubted he could move even if he wanted to. Clive got busy taking his socks off, then his skirt, his underwear, his shirt. He stripped Luke down until he was nude, only bothering to pull his own shirt off, and get rid of the belt Luke made him put on this morning. 

Clive was frustrated, because Looking down at Luke's body, he just knew he wasn't gonna fit. The only thing he wanted to do though, was stick it in. 

Maybe he could still try? 

He unzipped his pants, Luke seemed to twitch at the sound, before curling up a little as Clive stuck his fingers into him. 

"You're weirdly excited about this-" Clive said. Luke was twitching on the inside, soaking his fingers, Clive could feel the liquid dripping down his hand as he moved his two fingers around inside of Luke, trying to stretch him out. 

"It- h-hurts!" Luke said, reaching down to hold Clive's hand. Clive moved Luke's hands out of the way, letting him hold onto his free hand as he continued. "I'm barely touching you-" 

"Your fingers - are big!" 

" .. I think you're just really small-" Clive said, spreading his fingers out. Luke winced, squeezing Clive's hand as he did so. Clive was trying to be gentle, he'd calmed down a lot since their last time. Now that he knew he actually had the option to fuck Luke, he freaked out about him a lot less. 

Somehow- he'd never been more comfortable around Luke. 

"C-cwivee- that- ow-!" 

"Does it really hurt  _ that  _ much?" 

"Y-you're - breaking my hymen or something!" 

" You- Luke- you don't even have one- if you did then I wouldn't be able to even put a finger in you unless I broke it-" he said. Even when he'd done it the first time, he didn't have to break anything, because there wasn't anything there.

" You're lying! I've never done anything before so -"

"It- that's … " Clive sighed, " you can break it in other ways- plus- if you've ever put your fingers inside your-" 

"I- I didn't!" Luke yelled, going completely red as he squeezed Clive's hand. 

"So- you did?"

"No!"

"Yeah?" Clive grinned, watching Luke squirm as he continued to stretch him, hoping that maybe he'd get him open enough to put his dick in. Luke panted, Clive didn't expect him to cum just from being teased a little, but Luke was suddenly clenched tight around his hand, legs shaking as he let out an almost edible noise. 

Clive bit his lip, and rolled Luke over onto his stomach. "good boy~ now be still- this might hurt-" Clive said, knowing full well this was going to be excruciatingly painful. 

He got ready, using Luke's dripping fluids as Lube, wiping them all over his bare tip. He wasn't worried about condoms, he'd just pull out and make Luke take birth control. 

"W-wait- hold on- that's gonna hurt-" Luke said, finally coming to realize what Clive was planning to do with him. 

"You'll be fiiineee-" Clive said, pressing his tip to the flood gates. Luke looked at him, trying to keep his body relaxed as Clive started to push. He pushed, and pushed, but all he managed to do was get his tip in. He couldn't get past that, and Luke was gripping the blankets from how much it already hurt.

Clive sighed, extremely disappointed, before he grit his teeth, and pushed Luke's face down into the mattress, hoping to muffle his scream as he forced his way inside. 

Luke seemed to choke, body going rigid as Clive slowly filled him up. He let Luke go, and Luke instantly revealed that he was bawling his eyes out.

"Stop! Stop stop stop! I changed my mind!" He whined, "Clive pleasee!!" He cried, only being met with more length as Clive pushed into him. 

"You'll be fine-"

"It- h-hurts-!!"

"Shh- Lukeyy- relax- okay?" Clive said, stroking Luke's back. "I love you-" he mumbled, mostly just because he was extremely horny, and about to cum just from being inside of Luke. Luke sniffled, voice shaky as he groaned with the feeling of Clive pulling out. 

No blood on his dick, so that was a good sign … Luke looked like he was about to throw up though, so Clive attempted to soothe him, rubbing his sides as he slowly thrusted, unable to get much past the first four inches. 

It was too much for him either way. Luke was a little calmer, laying there as he only cried a little bit. He was clearly trying to suck it up, but it just hurt so much. 

Clive finally stopped when his body decided it was time to cum, and he pulled out, rubbing himself against Luke before he came, unintentionally getting it on Luke's back, and his thighs, along with his butt. 

Luke dropped to the bed, fully regretting his decision to do what Clive says for a month. If it meant more of this, he didn't know what he was gonna do. 

  
  


"C-clive- I don't wanna do it- I change my mind-" Luke said, leg dangling off of the bed. Clive just breathed … 

"That just means i'm not going to be nice when I do it from now on- and I'm not gonna hold back like just now-" 

"Y-you can't do that! You're supposed to be my boyfriend! You're not supposed to treat me like this- you're so mean!" Luke whined, sitting up. "I don't wanna be with you- I wanna- mph-" Luke went quiet as Clive grabbed him, locking lips with him again. He laid down on the bed with Luke in his arms, kissing him to his heart's content. 

He pulled away, "you're not going anywhere- and if you say you're leaving one more time i'm gonna choke you-" 

"C-clive-" 

"You're the one that wanted this- I told you to stop but you didn't wanna listen. I'm not letting you go- we're gonna be together forever-" 

"F-forever?"

"Mm-" Clive nuzzled Luke. "You can try to run all you want but I don't care anymore- you're staying here- whether you like it or not-" he said. Luke could feel Clive's heart as he was hugged up close to him. Clive was completely calm, Luke felt anxious, he didn't know what to do, so he just nodded and tried to get comfortable, eventually being tucked away under the blankets. 

He didn't even get to take his bath.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Luke stared down at the table, and all the stuff that he'd bought along with it. He'd scolded Clive nearly to death this morning, so Clive said he'd be gentle next time, and Luke tried not to feel so scared of the fact that there was going to be a next time. He just sat at his table, coloring with the new markers he'd gotten, listening to the sound of gunshots as Clive played whatever game he was playing. They'd taken a bath together this morning, and Luke took the time to try and use what Desmond told him. 

He refused to kiss Clive like he wanted until Clive had gone through his daily routine, and surprisingly, after he was finally given all his good morning kisses, he seemed really docile. He was thinking a lot less, just roaming around boredly, until he decided to pick up his controller.

Luke was honestly fine now, he ached a little in his stomach, but he was fine. He didn't know if he wanted to do that again, but- 

He sighed, so confused. His body felt hot, but he didn't want Clive to start touching him again, he was afraid- 

What was he supposed to do?


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Im lazy but listen- ooga

Luke stood slightly in front of Clive on the train. It was another cold day, on another dark, depressing morning. Maybe not that dark and depressing, Luke had been pretty happy actually, He'd put on some pants and a sweater over his uniform. His collar still folded over the sweater, but it was mostly just a style choice .. so he could match Clive. He thought it'd be funny, but Clive didn't seem to even notice. He hadn't said much of anything, and Luke hadn't wanted to talk to him since the other night … but he also didn't want Clive to leave him, or start acting mean out of nowhere. 

So he was quiet, listening to him talk to Dez about something unimportant. They always had little side conversations at every single minute of every day, Luke wondered why Clive didn't talk to him like that ... The bus absently shook as it moved, and Dez leaned back in his seat, "God- but it's just- stressful, you know? I didn't expect a test out of nowhere- especially since we just finished the first semester ones … I'm stuck thinking about the fact that we have to do this shit three more times, dude, I hate it here so much .." Dez said. The testing process for the school was very rigorous, it seemed like it was getting to him already. He probably just had senioritis, but who was to say? Maybe he was really suffering … probably not thought.

"Oh- but in other- less excruciating news! I hope you're not upset about this but guess who's dating Henry?" Dez said. 

"..." Clive shrugged, "Have fun while it lasts-" 

"Are you mad? I saw you two getting pretty close at the party~"

"No-" Clive said, in an obviously defensive tone. "Just- he wanted to try to smoke since he's never done it- I was just having fun-" 

"Yeah- using that as an excuse to get your prescription of Henry kisses is genius-"

"I wasn't!" 

Luke huffed. For some reason, he couldn't stand hearing about Henry, or Clive's infatuation with him. It really got on his nerves, but he didn't understand why. He wrapped his arms around Clive's leg, listening to him swear up and down that he didn't feel anything towards Henry. Luke wanted to believe him, but Clive whined a lot about Henry not liking him, and he got really, really sad after he came back home- the day he took that really long bath. He held onto him, and Clive directed his attention towards him. "What are you doing?" He asked, and Luke shook his head. Nothing, he wasn't doing anything, he was just enjoying the presence of Clive's legs. 

He flinched a little as a hand rested on top of his head, gently patting him instead of smacking him with all the strength in it's arm. Luke calmed down a little, and Held up his arms, being picked up by Clive, and held at his waist. "Are you tired or something?" Clive asked, and Luke nodded in agreement with whatever he said. He wasn't really bothering himself to listen anymore, just running into the hand running up and down his back. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Clive didn't know how he ended up playing dodgeball. He didn't even intend to come to the gym, but to see everyone inside the gym, as if it were middle school, it really freaked him out. He wondered, why? 

Why of all days- did they decide to do it today? 

He wondered this, on the floor, having been hit with every ball in the gym at once before he could even see what was happening. Flora was looking at him, crouched down next to him after pulling his unconscious body over to the side. She didn't expect Clive to get targeted, but now that she thought about it, it made sense. Everyone usually either felt two ways about him, "I want to fuck him" or "i want to strangle him." 

She guessed that the boys in gym really didn't like him all that much. 

"Are you okay?" She asked, and Clive didn't reply. He was too busy watching Luke play, he seemed like he was having fun. So cute- at least it wasn't cold inside the gym. Luke could move around as much as he wanted without worrying about freezing his nipples off. Clive sighed, and looked away, wondering if he was alright. He didn't ever complain about any of the stuff Clive did to him, but … it  _ had  _ to hurt- it had to. 

But he looked happy, whining as he got hit finally. He looked upset, reluctantly running off to the side, his smile returning to him as he walked over to Clive. 

He started going on about his dodgeball skills, asking if Clive saw him. 

"Did you see? I was Like-" Luke started dodging invisible balls, and Clive snorted. "Yea- I saw-" he said. "Maybe you'll win next time- you lasted pretty long-" he said, sitting up. Flora just looked at him, having thought he was dead. He'd been so unresponsive this whole time, and he usually didn't let anyone touch him. She thought for sure he had passed away but .. guess not.

Luke sat next to him, "my dad says he's getting better- he's supposed to be back up on his feet soon-" he said. Clive grinned, "really? You should go visit him-!" 

"I can't miss school- plus- I talk to him on the phone every day, i'm sure he'll be alright-" Luke said. He didn't seem like he meant it, so Clive just shrugged, " well what if he came here?" 

"Clive- are you trying to meet my parents?" 

"..." 

_ AM i trying to meet his parents?? _

" If they're anything like you- then no-" he said, and Luke looked down for a second .. "i'm sure my dad would like you-" he said with a smile, making Clive go red. " shut up Pukey-" 

"I thought you'd stopped calling me that by now!" Luke crossed his arms. " Can't you think of any other nickname? I thought of one for you~" Luke said. 

"Yea? What is it?"

" Onion-" 

"... Onion? Why Onion-"

"Because you stink- like Onions .." Luke said. It was quiet for a moment, Clive took the time to smell his shirt, not smelling anything but cologne and a slight hint of sweat. 

".... No I don't." He said, and Luke giggled to himself. "Sure- so when are we gonna go on a date?"

"Never-"

"... So we can go tomorrow?"

Clive sighed, "sure- whatever-" he mumbled, feeling Flora poking him in his arm. He looked over, " can me and Dahlia come with you?" She asked. 

Luke immediately gasped, "Like a double date? Clive! Please?" He said. 

"What- why? Doesn't she  _ not  _ like me? Go ask her instead-" 

"I already did! We don't wanna go by ourselves, we feel weird- plus Luke wants to go too-!"

Clive looked over at Luke, who most definitely seemed excited about going. He sighed, how did he always end up in these situations? He didn't wanna go on a date at all- or be seen in public with either of these two loud mouths .. though, the idea of taking Luke on a date was nice, and he was already formulating thoughts about what he'd do on said date. 

It wasn't until his phone buzzed that he even remembered that he had other things to do. That creepy stalker person who'd been texting him wanted to meet. He couldn't really say that he wanted the same thing, but it would make his life a lot easier if he went ahead and found out who it was. They said they just wanted to talk, he didn't really know if he believed that or not. 

He wasn't going to go though … because he was a little scared-

"Can we?" Luke asked. He looked like he was ready to start begging again. Clive sighed, "Tomorrow?" He asked, and Flora nodded. The two started to talk about it, make plans, and Clive just sat there wondering …

_ Does he smell like onions? _

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Luke watched Clive study, he was reading the notes that Luke had taken for him in class. It really turned out to be a life saving necessity, but still … he sucked at studying, halfway asleep by now, staring down at the paper with a sharp glare. Luke sat next to him, they'd gotten rid of the other bed, so now they both slept on Luke's big, soft mattress. Luke had filled their room up with stuff, and decorated it like it was his own house. Clive was happy that he was comfortable, but it felt like all the stuffed animals were looking at him sometimes .. but it was still cute. Entirely too cute if he had to be honest.

Clive couldn't really focus on any of it though, because Luke was laying there next to him, just- naked. Ass out, laying on his stomach as he watched whatever was on TV. Clive could see everything, he just- wanted to touch him so bad, but he couldn't keep doing that every five minutes! Clive didn't tell him to get naked- he didn't tell him to take his clothes off at all- Luke just seemed comfortable like that. Clive was happy to know Luke was comfortable with him seeing his body too, especially since he did nothing to deserve that comfort ...

But it was so incredibly distracting …

Though, not as distracting as it would usually be. Clive figured he was finally getting used to being around Luke. And all it took was for him to just- 

Rape him a few times and force him to do what he says without letting him tell any authorities or even leave the room unless he was with him.

Yeah

Cool ..

He felt bad, worse than bad- he felt like shit when he finally had the clarity to realize what he did, but he was too embarrassed to apologize. Luke looked up at him, and then at his unmoving pencil, noticing that Clive was just looking at him, before he quickly turned away, looking down at his paper. Luke smiled, " you're not gonna get anything done if you just stare at it- do you need help?" He asked. He'd already passed Clive in terms of grades, Clive ended up with a B in anatomy because of all the distractions, so now he was second place in the entire school. Second place to his adorable, valedictorian boyfriend.

"I know that-" He mumbled, really wanting Luke to just go back to watching TV.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing .." Clive said, reading whatever the hell was on his paper. He could barely understand the terminology on his physics homework, and he had no fucking idea what was going on in english. He sighed, and looked over at Luke ..

Luke looked up at him, and Clive blushed. The last time he touched Luke, Luke started kicking and screaming, refusing to even be hugged until Clive did his homework. 

So now Clive was scared to touch him, but he was too distracted to do his homework because he couldn't stop thinking about how much he wanted to hug him. Luke looked away, and rolled over, laying on his back as he reached for his phone, unlocking it. Clive tried not to look, but he really couldn't focus- but he couldn't do anything either- so he just- 

Sat there. Wondering how hard his dick could get before it became unbearable.

Luke hummed, "do you need help?" He asked, and Clive .. felt a little embarrassed about needing help from someone five years below him, but he agreed anyways. 

"I haven't even gotten past the first question-" he admitted, and Luke sat up. He moved over to Clive, looking at the page .. he leaned against Clive's arm, and turned the pages in the notebook. "did you read my notes?" He asked, seeing that Clive had … drawn stuff in the notebook. 

Ninjas.

"Yea- but- i'm not really all that good at reading-"

" …  _ you can't read? _ " Luke asked, completely blown away at the possibility.

"I can read! I just- it's hard to understand without reading it a bunch of times, and I can't read long paragraphs without forgetting what it's about- and I get headaches from staring at text for too long and I just-! ugh-" Clive sighed, "Forget it- I give up." He said. He needed Dez for this, what was the point if he was going to need someone to hold his hand forever? He might as well just drop out or something, he'd be better off ..

"You can't give up! This one is easy- here- I'll read it for you-" Luke said. He wasn't about to let Clive give up like this, it'd be completely insane-

As soon as he started to read, Clive felt frustration at the fact that he could understand the material a million times better. He didn't stop Luke, but he was mad at himself. Now he was relying on Luke to get to sleep, to help him with homework, and for sex. It was a good thing Luke liked him, it'd be hell trying to do this alone.

He started to slowly fill in answers, Luke was rubbing his hand, keeping him calm. The initial frustration disappeared after a few minutes. Clive listened to Luke's soft voice, telling him all the information he needed to know. It made it really easy to focus, and even if he made a mistake, Luke was so much nicer than any teacher Clive had ever met before. 

After a while, he'd finished his work without too much of a problem … he should have just- asked, but he couldn't. He sighed, wanting to thank Luke for his help, but not exactly knowing how to go about doing that. Luke was too busy leaning against him, telling him he did a good job, Nuzzling his arm. 

"Luke- why are you naked?" Clive finally asked. He didn't wanna ask at first, what if it was for some weird reason that he just wouldn't understand? Or what if it was just to annoy him?

" why not?" Luke asked, before blushing as Clive put a hand around his waist. "It's distracting-" 

"Well- i thought- if you got used to seeing me then you wouldn't act so dumb when you see me naked-" Luke said. "Like how dogs have to sniff people before-"

"I'm not a dog!" Clive whined, "you and Dez and everyone i date- you all call me a dog! I'm nothing like a dog! Why does everyone say that?!" He said. 

"... It's okay-" Luke said, gently patting his head. Clive huffed, and calmed down a little, trying not to think about how nice Luke's hand felt on his head. He wasn't a dog. 

"You're the one that's Like a dog- go back over there-" Clive said. Luke nodded, and went back to the foot of the bed, laying back down … 

Clive contemplated asking Luke to put clothes on, before he realized that he really really really wanted to look. 

" … wait- come back-" he said, holding his arms out. Luke had pretty much just been doing whatever he said, and doing a good job at it too. He sat up, a happy smile on his face as he moved back over to Clive. He was wrapped up in a hug, Clive moving his books away, laying down with Luke in his arms. 

Luke put his leg around Clive's waist, enjoying the silence. He guessed it was okay that they didn't talk too much, nobody else was able to hold Clive like this, so he didn't mind if their interactions were different. 

"Luke- you smell good" Clive mumbled. He said that so much, all the time. "Are you hungry?" He asked, and Clive nodded.

Luke sat up, "me too- i'm gonna make us something to eat-" he said, moving over Clive to get off the bed. Clive looked like he didn't want Luke to go, but he let him anyways. 

Clive sighed … he took hold of one of Luke's stuffed animals. Was this gonna become a habit? Cuddling Luke's stuffed animals while Luke cooks dinner? He felt like how he used to feel when his mom used to cook for him, and he'd just go to sleep while he waited. 

Luke was putting his apron on, tying it around his waist, not bothering with any other clothes as he started cooking. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Luke held Clive's hand, walking alongside them as they made their way somewhere. Clive didn't care, he was just following Dahlia, trying not to think about everyone he passed. All these people, all around him. He was hyper focused on it, not wanting to make it too obvious that he even existed. 

Luke could feel Clive's nerves jumping around in his hands. He was always like this when he went anywhere without Dez ..

"Luke-" Clive asked, looking down at him. Luke looked up, suddenly being picked up, and held how he usually was. Clive seemed to calm down suddenly, but Luke was confused as to why he was holding him, and why he suddenly seemed so affectionate. 

He didn't say anything though, not wanting Clive to stop. He put his arm around Clive's shoulder, and they continued walking. They hadn't been speaking all that much to each other, mostly just listening to Flora and Dahlia talk, since their relationship seemed a lot more stable ..

It was almost like the two were taking notes on what they should be doing more of. 

They finally got to where they were going, it was a … karaoke bar. Only, it probably didn't serve alcohol. Luke beamed once he saw where they were going, but Clive just immediately decided that he wasn't gonna sing no matter what. 

"Cliveee-" Luke said, looking up at him. Dahlia turned, walking backwards as she held the door open for everyone. "This is the perfect time to start an analysis- i've known you for a while- so I feel like I have my answers- I just need you to hear them so I can judge whether or not I'm right." She said. 

Clive sighed, "you- did all this for that stupid fucking thesis paper about me?" 

"Yes." 

" … " Clive walked in, "whatever-" he mumbled, lacking a single fuck in his body to give right now. He held onto Luke, letting him down once they got into the dimly lit, neon bar. The smell of food was strong, since that's all they could serve here. "Everything is free since it's Friday- so you have no reason not to have fun-" Dahlia said, being ignored completely as they all walked in. Luke went ahead, going straight for the bar. Clive wondered if Luke thought they sold alcohol or something. 

So cute- 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Clive watched Luke sing. It was- terrible- because he was drunk, but if it wasn't the most adorable thing he'd ever seen then may someone smite him right then and there. People didn't seem to mind, Luke had the voice of the small boy that he was, so it was cute to hear him sing. He sounded tired, and that's what everyone chalked it up to ..

But Clive knew he was drunk. Clive thought, well, it'd be funny to spike his milkshake .. Luke didn't even notice, he commented that it tasted good. Clive sure as hell was regretting it right about now, watching his poor boyfriend actually make everyone in the building a little happier by being his tiny, alcoholic self. 

Dahlia just shook her head, "why would you do this to him?" She asked, and Clive shrugged. "Look how happy he is. That's the reason-" he said. Dahlia looked over at Luke, who was getting off the stage, crossing the room to Clive, almost tripping and falling. It was Flora's turn next, she looked like she was a little drunk too ..

Clive remembered Luke sharing his milkshake with her- 

Oops- 

Dahlia squinted at him, and Clive pretended like he couldn't see her, Luke was crawling up into Clive's lap, shaking the barstool as Clive picked him up. "Cwivee- i think- i think there was something in my food- ifeel weirdddd-" Luke said, and Clive kissed his forehead, "maybe- i'm sure you'll be fine though- we'll go to bed early- alright?"

"Okie …" Luke nuzzled Clive's chest, and Clive wondered what he was doing for a second, before remembering that Luke liked Clive's "boobs" and he just- had a habit of sticking his face in them. Clive sighed, giving him a pat on the back as he leaned up against the counter. 

"What exactly did you put in their drinks?" Dahlia asked, and Clive shrugged, taking a tiny bottle of alcohol from his pocket. 

"This-" he said, absently handing it to her. She held her hand out, and he dropped it so she could inspect it .. 

Vanilla whiskey

90%

"What the  _ hell  _ is wrong with you?" She asked, and Clive just shrugged, "I don't know- isn't it your job to figure that out?" He said. Dahlia huffed, but before she could say anything, Flora was at the microphone, talking into it, giving an introduction. She looked nearly asleep, Dahlia didn't wanna stop her, but she was worried that Flora would throw up on the mic or something. 

She started to sing .. and Dahlia sighed, relieved that she sounded how she always did. It wasn't bad, not for someone her age. Her voice echoed off of the walls of the bar, and she was quiet for a while, just listening to Flora sing. 

It wasn't until Flora started uncontrollably giggling in the middle of the song, that she began to regret this. 

"I'll tell you what's wrong with you when I figure out a way to compile so many things into a reasonable list-" she said, getting up. Flora was on stage, laughing to death into the mic. 

Luke was sliding his hands under Clive's shirt, rubbing his chest. "Cwive- squisshhh" Luke said, and Clive finally decided it was time to go home. 

He stood, carrying Luke in his arms, as he made his way out, flashing his stomach to everyone he passed. "did you have fun?" Clive asked, and Luke nodded. Je was biting Clive through his shirt, so Clive had to stop him before he started trying to breastfeed himself. 

Clive pushed his arms down, fixing his shirt. Luke continued to bite him through the shirt, but- Clive could see clearly that he was just tired. 

"Cwive- i gotta- tell you something-" Luke said. 

"The person- who texts you- it was Lili- i'm sowwy i didn't say anything-" Luke said. 

Clive stopped walking … 

"What?" He asked, but Luke was already asleep. 


	23. Paying Attention

“What are you talking about?” Luke asked, curled up on his bed. He wasn’t hungover, but he was reasonably angry about being drugged. Though, it wasn’t much of a surprise given who did it. He laid there in his bed, Only wearing the shirt that he pulled off of the other last night as Clive questioned him on something he had no idea of. It had been about ten minutes before he got tired, Clive was sitting next to him, he seemed so defeated. At first he was angry, and he wouldn’t stop yelling, but now he was just … sad. 

“I’m talking about the person who keeps texting me, you said you know who they are, who are they?”

“I never said that-” Luke said, sitting up. He rubbed his face, wishing Clive could just talk to him instead of shaking him around all the time. 

“You did- last night-”

“Because I was drunk? I dunno-” Luke mumbled. He was sleepy, it was far too early to wake up right now. 

Clive didn’t even bother replying, he’d muted his phone by now, he guessed that maybe he was never gonna find out who had been texting him. Did it really even matter? It wasn’t like the person was doing much of anything. All they ever did was … talk. Ask him how he was, talk about whatever dumb thing they felt like talking about. It was kind of nice actually, At least it gave him someone to converse with. 

Even if he never found out who it was, he might as well just give up and try and see it as a positive thing. He laid down, and Luke rolled over, wrapping his arm around Clive. “My mom called ..” he said, getting a hum, Clive’s way of letting Luke know that he was listening. 

“I told her I have a boyfriend, and she was really happy. They say they wanna meet you … since you’ve been paying for their medical bills, it was you, wasn’t it?”

“ … “

“Well. Either way, You’d better take me home this weekend-” Luke said, and Clive huffed. “We’ve been together for like- a few weeks- don’t you think-”

“No” Luke said, He’d made up his mind already, from the initial day he got the call until now, he’d tried to 

“But what if we break up? What then?” Clive sounded more frantic than he let on. 

“We won’t-” Luke said, and Clive looked over at him. “And what makes you so sure?” 

“You need me!” 

“ ... “ 

  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  


They went the next few days without really doing much of anything. They had started a health class, but once again, there was a shortage of desks, so Luke took a seat on one of Clive’s legs. The teacher spoke, but Luke could barely take any notes. Clive was really touchy feely today, he had his hands underneath Luke’s shirt, just rubbing his stomach. Luke was distracted by it, because, well- for one- Clive was being gentle- and two- it tickled. The lights were off in the room, maybe that’s why he felt bold enough to be feeling Luke up. Luke was too busy staring up at the board right now, being flashed a diagram of a penis. He didn’t really think this was appropriate, but maybe there was some necessity to it that he just couldn’t focus on because Clive was pinching his stomach. 

“Sexually transmitted diseases, or, STDs can have a range of effects on your body, and I know  _ some of you  _ aren’t very careful.” the teacher said. Clive just rolled his eyes, “if he wants to call me a whore he can say it to my face-” Clive mumbled. Luke stared at the screen as the teacher flipped the screen. 

“ … w-what is that?” Luke asked, and Clive shrugged. “Herpes?” 

“Herpes is correct-” The teacher said, “ But please keep all side conversations until after class-” He glared at Clive. This one specific teacher really didn’t like him. Probably because his daughter went here, and so- yeah. 

Clive huffed, and Luke cringed at all the bubbling bumps coming out of the person’s skin. The teacher went on to show them a bunch more pictures, and Luke’s horror only grew stronger with each disgusting image. Was this what could happen if you did it with a bunch of people? Luke looked up at Clive, who glared at him, “the fuck are you looking at?” He aggressively said, and Luke, in a panic, said what was on his mind. 

“You don’t have anything right?” He asked, getting nothing but a quiet, slightly upset looking stare.

“ … I have aids-” Clive mumbled, and Luke took him extremely seriously, his eyes going wide as he whimpered out, “ _ We’re gonna die!” _

“Mmhmm. Yup.” 

“ _ Wh-why didn’t you tell me!? What am I gonna tell my-” _

Luke stopped, hearing Clive quietly laughing … “  _ y-you’re messing with me-” _

_ “Duh-” _

_ “That’s not funny.” _ Luke huffed, trying to ignore the apology and kiss to his head. “ _ How can you have such a big head but no brain-” _

_ “You’re one to talk- and my head isn’t big!”  _

Luke flinched as the teacher glared at them, “You two. Step outside-” He said, and Clive didn’t even argue. He just got up, picking up his bag, along with Luke, who held onto his notebook as he was carried out. 

“Wha?! You’re really just gonna leave?!” Luke asked, and Clive shrugged, “ _ Well he said step outside-” _ he mumbled, shutting the door behind them on his way out. He set Luke down, but held onto his hand. Honestly, if they were gonna kick him out of class, then they should expect him to get in a lot more trouble. What else was there to do? He could study- but that was boring- “Where are we going then?” Luke asked, and Clive hummed … “well- this was our last period, so- I guess we can either go home- or- go see Dez. Feels like I haven’t seen him all day-” Clive said, and Luke … looked down. “You miss him or something?” 

“Well yea- he’s my best friend-” 

“Let’s go home-” Luke said, tugging at Clive’s arm. “ … eh, I don’t know- ” Clive mumbled, not seeing Luke’s annoyance, “It’ll be boring-” 

“Are you saying I'm boring??”

‘Well- no- but what are we even gonna do at home besides lay there and disagree about something every once in a while? Let’s at least go get something to eat-” 

“... is that really all we do?” Luke mumbled, “I like being around you, I didn’t know you felt that way-” He said, and Clive suddenly realized, ‘ _ oh shit that was really mean’ _

“I didn’t mean- well-”

“Shut up- I get it- you’re always saying stuff you don’t mean- it’s fine.” Luke huffed- and Clive sighed. Great, he hurt his feelings for the millionth time. He probably should just shut up. “... you should stop eating fast food when I can cook-” Luke said. Clive shrugged, “I wouldn’t wanna cook for me every single day- I don’t see why you want to-” 

“Because! I just- do!”

“ … well- there’s nothing in the fridge-”

“So let’s go to the store-” Luke immediately suggested, getting a reserved nod … 

“Hey- you know- we should do more couple stuff” Luke said, feeling the cold air hit him as he walked outside. “Couple stuff?” Clive asked, squinting through the bright light outside. It always seemed to blind him at first. Making him squint like he forgot how to use his eyes in the first place. “Yeah! Things like- good morning kisses- and- you should say you love me sometimes .. and-” Luke went on and on, and Clive started to space out. It wasn’t that he wasn’t listening, but just- what Luke was describing was … an old married couple that would probably die for eachother. 

“And baths together- and- why do we always eat so far apart? … are you listening?” 

“ … h-huh?”   
  


“Clive!” 

“I was listening!” Clive defensively said, feeling Luke pull hard on his arm. Clive stopped walking, and Luke held both of his hands, “i mean it! You might not like me that much but I promise i’m really not that bad! Can’t you try? At least for a little while? If it’s really that bothersome then we can stop-” 

“ … I- I do like you-” 

“You sure don’t act like it-” 

“I know …” Clive sighed, “I know- I’m sorry- I just … i’m not good at this stuff-”

“Is that why you didn’t have a girlfriend?”

“Are you kidding? That’s literally one reason out of about a million! The only time people even care about me is when they’re trying to- you know- but I get tired of just being used- but nobody ever told me that wasn’t normal- this year is just- the first time i’m really realizing that I’m pretty much incapable of this stuff-” Clive said. 

“ … That- was the most you’ve ever told me about yourself-” 

“ … oh god” Clive mumbled, and Luke smiled, “Don’t worry about it- that’s what I’m for! You might not be able to show it right now- but I don’t think you’re incapable! You just need somebody to show you how-” 

“ …”

“... what?”

“ nothing-”

“Were you listening?”

“Yes I was listening!” 

Luke huffed, “ is something wrong?” He asked, not really getting a response. “I’m just- thinking- you really don’t look like a girl …” 

“ … wha- what do you mean?! Of course I don’t- that’s the point!” Luke said, squeezing Clive’s hands. Clive shrugged, and picked him up, deciding to continue their walk. “I mean it’s- you’re so flat- and small- I started wondering what you’d look like in a few years-” 

“The same.” 

Clive smiled, “ i thought that too- and then i grew six inches …  _ and then I grew six more- _ ” 

“Pervert-” 

‘It was a joke~ but it really did happen- people used to tell me I was gonna be short forever and then i just- started growing and It still hasn’t stopped- which is scary but i’m not complaining-” 

“You two are both freakishly tall- what do you eat?” 

Clive shrugged, “pus-”

“Don’t you dare say that!” 

Clive smiled, “well maybe that’s what did it~ who knows? I really don’t eat that much anyways- but still- what if by the time you’re eighteen you have huge tits-” 

“ … I’ll use them to suffocate you-”

“Fair.” 

“What if I wanna get them taken off?” Luke said, “I don’t really want that kind of body-” he looked down at himself, and Clive shrugged, “ It wouldn’t really make a difference for me- though- i wouldn’t trust any doctor with cutting off any part of me-” Clive said, and Luke hummed … “I don’t think i’d actually do it- or- maybe- I don’t know-” He mumbled, having not really thought about it. The idea seemed so scary, but Clive already seemed to have cemented him as a boy in his mind, which made him feel a lot better, since Clive was one of the only people who knew. Luke looked at the grass as they walked … He had only just now gotten over wanting to wear more feminine clothes sometimes, that it didn’t make him a girl, thanks to flora’s support, and now he had Clive thinking about boobs- giving him something else to worry about- 

“Pervert-” Luke mumbled, and Clive huffed, “can you hear my thoughts or something?” 

“No- what were you thinking?”

“ um … so- what do you plan on making?” 

Changing the subject … Luke just wondered if it was really that bad. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Luke didn’t know how he ended up like this, sitting on Clive’s face while he ate his food, watching tv like there wasn’t a tongue inside of him. He’d made a normal meal, some runny curry with rice, it was sitting on a plate, on Clive’s stomach as Luke tried to eat it, but didn’t really feel like he could focus. He lifted his hips up, feeling the tongue slide out of him, before licking across his slit. “C-cliveee-” Luke whined, getting a hum in response. “Mmh- a-aren’t you actually g-gonna eat?” Luke asked, hearing a quiet, “later” as Clive pulled him back down. 

His legs shook, and he quietly moaned, looking down at the steel rod between his legs. He was a little scared, the last time they tried something, it didn’t go too well. Still, his stomach was tightening, and Clive had liquid running down his chin at this point. Luke leaned forward, subtly pushing his hips back onto Clive’s face. Just a little more- just-

Clive stopped, pushing Luke away just enough, leaving him trembling and confused. “Wh- why’d you stop?” Luke asked, watching Clive move the plate away. He sat up, setting Luke down in his lap as he leaned back against the bed, not really saying anything. He figured Luke would figure it out, and he seemed to, as he undid his pants. Luke stared down between Clive’s legs, his heart throbbing painfully in his chest. “D-don’t be so rough this time-?” Luke asked, feeling Clive nuzzle him. He lifted Luke, holding his legs apart as he attempted to lower him down onto his length. It was really an uphill battle, a lot of pushing, quiet grunting and uncomfortable hissing before it just barely pushed inside. Luke really squeezed Clive’s tip, and Clive almost forgot, “Oh right, I can barely touch Luke without cumming-” 

He realized it all too late, gravity let Luke’s body slowly slide down onto his length as his arms weakened. He was a little afraid of making Luke pregnant. He thought about it every time he so much as held hands with him. He didn’t want to end up like Sophia and Anthony …

He put his arms around Luke’s stomach, just trying to catch his breath. He was barely inside of him, but it was enough. Luke started squirming around, pulling it in deeper. It didn’t seem like he was doing it on purpose, since he was starting to cry. Clive held him up, pulling out of him just a little bit, thinking that it wouldn’t hurt him so much if he wasn’t all the way inside, but- Luke just started crying more. 

“Does it hurt?” Clive asked, and Luke nodded. 

“Do you wanna stop?”

“N-no! “

“But-” 

Luke shook his head, “it feels good- i-i’m okay-” Luke said. Clive wondered if he was just saying that because he knew he wanted to do it. “You really don’t have to-” Clive said, and Luke furiously shook his head, “Please- i’m really close-!” He begged … and Clive sort of started to understand. Maybe Luke wasn’t crying because it hurt, maybe that’s just how he reacts … it was kind of cute, Clive went red, pushing himself inside, letting Luke go down. He figured Luke would tell him if it was too much, he hoped so, at least. 

Luke didn’t say anything, completely quiet as Clive laid further back, letting Luke lay down on him. “Nnhhhuuh-” Luke moaned … he was sitting now, it was all the way inside, and it hurt a lot- but- he was sort of starting to get used to it. Clive ran his hands through Luke’s hair, kissing his shoulders, holding him close, before he felt Luke suddenly start shaking. He whimpered, and Closed his legs, turning his body. Clive felt him loosen up, so- he must’ve just came or something … 

Clive sighed, his mind was going in circles. Luke fit really well now, and as soon as he pulled out, Luke gasped loudly. His insides were sensitive, and he barely had any control over himself. Clive kept his arms around his body, slowly thrusting into him, listening to him cry out as if he was experiencing something truly unholy. He went slow, for Luke’s sake, and for his own. If he came inside of this boy, it was over, so he took his time, rubbing Luke’s body, feeling him up while he was still awake. Luke just drooled at this point, his bed was a lot louder than Clive’s, it was older, so the metal in it really creaked when he picked up the pace. It wasn’t by much, Clive was barely able to contain himself, let alone fuck Luke like he was used to. 

Still, what little speed and friction they had was driving them both crazy. Both of them were holding their breaths, shaking, Clive had his arms tight around Luke’s body, and Luke was gasping for air, holding onto Clive’s fingers. He suddenly stopped, head rolling back as he quaked, and Clive quickly pulled out of him. He barely made it, getting some of it between Luke’s legs, a lot of it ended up on his stomach … until luke gathered it up with his fingers, pushing it inside of himself. 

“L-Luke!” Clive sat up, watching Luke spread the liquid around inside his own body. “Clive’s babies-” 

“Luke oh  _ my god- _ ”

Luke smiled, watching his boyfriend panic, not knowing what to do. He wasn’t gonna tell him that he was on birth control just yet … He started it ever since that first time they did it, he always thought there was a chance that something went wrong. He laid against Clive, ignoring his freak out. 

“Why would you- You’re gonna-  _ oh my god we’re gonna get expelled- _ ” 

“Why do you care so much about getting expelled?” Luke asked, and Clive looked at him with deadly seriousness. “L-look- This school isn’t like every other school- I know you don’t know about it- since it’s your first year here- and nobody has been expelled yet- but when it happens- it’s  _ bad- _ ”

“Hm?”

“Depending on what you do, they’ll line you up with everyone else who’s getting kicked out, and make you all walk across the stage like an anti-graduation ceremony- when you get to the front- you have to say what you did- in full detail, in front of like-  _ everyone- _ ” Clive said. Luke … nodded. “ A girl got kicked out for posting nudes on her instagram and she had to say it in front of literally every single guy in the school- They made her get so specific- I could feel her embarrassment- she cried so hard when it was over she threw up! Luke I’m freaking out-!” 

“Relax!” Luke said, “I’m on the pill- you’re no fun …” He said, laying against Clive, who was staring off into space. He kicked Luke off the bed, “That’s not fucking funny!” 

“Ow- You’re so mean!” 

“You- Ugh! Go- eat a crayon-” Clive said, ignoring Luke as he got up, immediately hitting him in the arms. “You eat a crayon! Or- eat what I made already before it gets stale!” 

“Fine-” Clive huffed. 

“And stop hitting me …”

“Fine. ‘ 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Clive looked down at Luke, it felt a little different watching him practice now that they were together. Dez wasn’t here … but Alfendi was. Clive wanted to ignore him, but he couldn’t even look at him without wanting to kill someone. He didn’t move, he didn’t wanna do what he did the last time, and start something while Luke was trying to practice. He deserved to be able to work in peace without worrying about whether or not his boyfriend was going to kill someone. 

Alfendi was apologising profusely, saying that he regretted it all, and that he knew Clive wouldn’t forgive him, but he just didn’t want Clive to see him like that, like a monster. He didn’t want to leave him without closure, leave him to try and figure out yet another thing by himself, because it wasn’t something he should have to deal with in the first place. 

He really did seem sorry, but- Clive didn’t care … he felt nothing but emptiness as Alfendi spoke, and nothing but anger when he cried. 

“Look- if you want- we can go around back and you can get your revenge- cut me- do whatever you want- i just- i can’t let it be this way- I really did care about you! I really did!” Alfendi said. 

Clive just looked at Luke … 

“I’m over it” He said, and that was all he said. He wondered where Dez was, and he pulled out his phone to text him. 

“You don’t have to lie- I know you’ve probably thought of all the ways you could kill me by now- there must be something I could do- I swear I’ll do anything-” 

“ … you know that big building in the middle of the school?” Clive asked, and Alfendi nodded. 

“Jump off it, and land in the trash can. If you survive- then jump again- and keep jumping until you kill yourself.” 

“ … “ Alfendi wiped his face “Harsh.” He said, not getting a response as Clive typed in all caps, DEZ IM GOING TO FUCKING CRY among many other things. Mastering the art of keeping a stoic face to hide his many traumatic experiences was one of the skills he was thankful to have. 

“You don’t really want me to kill myself- come on-” Alfendi said, and Clive looked at him …

“I do.” He said, stone faced, not caring whether or not Alfendi actually did it. In fact, he really did want him to, and he didn’t feel bad about that at all, not one fucking bit. Alfendi stared back at him … before he looked down, “I know I really hurt you, I know- and I’m sorry. I did it knowing you wouldn’t say anything, and that you wouldn’t tell anyone, and that you’d just- keep it in- and that’s- I’m sorry.” 

“You did it because Anthony told you to. And You’re his bitch.” Clive said, “You’ve always been a bitch and you’ll always be a bitch.” He stared down at his phone … before knitting his eyebrows together in a sort of focused way. “And you can stop with the apologies, you could get on your knees and suck my dick right now and I still wouldn’t care. There isn’t anything you can say to fix it, there is no fixing it.” 

“So you’re just- gonna be mad at me forever? You have to let it go eventually!” Alfendi said, “Please, you’re only gonna hurt yourself.” 

“ … kill yourself.” 

The conversation stopped, Alfendi was quiet, he had run out of things to say, run out of excuses, run out of tactics. He tried apologising, when that didn’t work he tried gaslighting, when that didn’t work he tried crying, but it all gave him the same response. 

“I don’t care.” “die.” “cry all you want.” 

Alfendi stared down at the bleachers … “You don’t seem all that afraid of me-” He said, and Clive looked up. “Because I’m not- what are you gonna do here? Rape me in front of everyone?”

“I’m sorry!” 

“Or maybe that’s why you wanted me to go outside with you- so you could do it there, right? You didn’t come here to apologise, you came here for seconds.” 

“I didn’t! That’s disgusting!” 

“You’re disgusting.” Clive said, “ I hope you cry until your eyes bleed and you cough up a lung- I hope you get sick and die- and I hope nobody finds your body and you rot in a dumpster while rats piss on you-” 

“You would wish that kind of pain on my mother? What would she think if something happened to me?” 

“I hope she dies too, i hope you both die-” 

“That’s too far!” 

“IS IT?! IS IT REALLY?” Clive said, before taking a second to calm down … “Leave- Dahlia knows what you did- and so does everyone else. I did tell a few people, I’m not so weak that I can’t see that you’re dangerous, so I warned who I could about you.” Clive said, and Alfendi went a little blue in the face. “Who did you tell?” 

“Any girl i have in my contacts, and their brothers, if they go here- I told pretty much everyone, and I told them to tell everyone, I’m surprised you haven’t gotten your ass handed to you-” Clive looked down at the group of cheerleaders, who hadn’t moved in a little while. They were talking about something …. “ … why do you come here?” Alfendi said, and Clive shrugged. “None of your business, maybe I just like to watch-” 

“... I have a hard time believing you’ve never touched someone in a way that made them feel gross- you gotta understand where I’m coming from-” 

“ … see- but I haven’t though. All you have to fucking do is ask, what’s so hard about that? You make it seem like what you did was an accident, but it wasn’t- I screamed- I cried- I told you to stop over and over and over again- but you didn’t. I’ve never fucking done that to someone-” Clive said … except Luke, he did it to Luke, he didn’t know why, but he’d never do it again. He was really starting to come to terms with it, he didn’t ever think he was capable of a thing like that … 

“Literally- if you didn’t want to do it then you wouldn’t have done it. I’m so sick of you, and guys like you, complaining about mixed signals and shit as if you can’t simply just ask a question. “Do you want to?” It’s that easy, a yes or no question- but you don’t, and you scream that it’s unfair, and you make my life, and the lives of everyone else around you a living hell, because  _ You wanted to fucking cum so bad you were willing to hurt someone. _ How desperate can you be? I don’t even feel bad, I’m fully convinced you’re just … some sort of animal at this point. You don’t even really feel bad, do you?” … there was a quiet pause, and Clive knew he was right, “you just don’t want to be expelled. That’s why you’re pressuring me to forgive you, but I won’t. And I have every right not to. If you think I owe you forgiveness, Kill yourself, If you think things will ever be okay between us, Kill yourself, and if you think I don’t have the balls to cut you open right now then  _ Stop with the pussy apology shit and lets get it over with already. _ ” Clive said. 

Alfendi … Stood, and Clive looked at him. “Fine, you want me to die? Fine- but you’ll be sorry when it happens- and you won’t be able to live with yourself-” Alfendi said … and then he was gone. Clive scoffed, If he actually did it then he was gonna be saying pog all day long. 

The sad thing was that Alfendi really thought Clive would care, Ha- no. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Luke watched Clive and Dez talk … he felt a little bad, admittedly, Clive never talked to him like that, it was unfair. They were on the bus, going to school. Clive and Dez never seemed to be able to shut the heck up for three seconds, both of them sitting so close together. Luke knew Clive liked Dez, he didn’t think those feelings had gone away either … 

Like hell. Luke shuffled forward a little, moving onto Clive, barely being noticed. Clive put his arms around Luke, but he kept talking … Luke huffed, but this felt a little better at least. He had been tuning their conversation out until now, but what were they even saying? 

“I don’t know- that’s just what it said on the manual so that’s what I did- but when I plugged it up it literally exploded-” 

“That sucks- it was probably a fake battery-”

“You really think so?”

“Yeah dude- they’re everywhere now since they’re so cheap, but they’ll literally explode.” 

Luke … didn’t know what they were talking about in specific, but he listened anyways. He felt a little left out, but what was he supposed to say? He just wanted Clive’s attention … He held Clive’s hand, rubbing his fingers across Clive’s before it was returned. Luke sat there for a second, playing with his hand, surprised that he was getting any sort of response at all. 

He guessed Clive was paying attention … he bit his hand, and Clive winced, “L-Luke!” 

It wasn’t enough attention. 


	24. Parental controls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clive meets Luke's parents-

Clive dug through his drawers, having just gotten home a second ago. Luke wasn’t here, he said he wanted to stay in the gym to practice, and that he’d make Dez carry him home, so it was fine. Since Luke wasn’t here though, Clive figured it would be the perfect time to bleach his hair blonde without any backlash or complaining, Luke would just have to deal with it when he got back. 

There was a knock at the door … Clive huffed, Closing his drawers, figuring it was probably Luke coming back in a hurry to say he missed him or something. He leaned over, and opened it, almost jumping out of his skin at the sight of a very ghostly looking Sophia, holding a baby in her arms. 

“ … been a while.” She said, and Clive just stared … He didn’t wanna be rude, but she had been radio silent. He almost thought she killed herself for a while- “um .. yea-” 

“Let me just- get to the point. It’s yours-” 

“ … what’s mine?”

Sophia squinted at him, standing there in complete silence … and then Clive realised. 

“ _ Oh _ ”

“Yeah”

“Shit” 

“Yeah …”

“ … do- you wanna come in?”

“That would be nice, yes.” Sophia said, walking inside. Clive stayed at the door for a moment …  _ oh god what did he do. _ “...” The two were quiet, Sophia sat on the bed, She held the baby in her arms, looking like she was going to break into tears any second now. 

“ … wait- h-how? I thought when we did it you were already pregnant?”

“I wasn’t … yet- I was just gaining weight because I was depressed I guess. I thought I was pregnant too- so I let you ... “

“...” Clive shut the door, looking over at her, “did it hurt?” 

“Did what hurt?” 

“You know what I’m talking about-”

Sophia smiled, “well yea- I thought I was dying- I hit a doctor and I passed out maybe three times- but then- Into the world came this thing-” She said, looking down at the baby. Clive looked … and awkwardly shuffled over, “i’m sorry …”

“For what?”

“For- getting you pregnant? Putting you through all of this-”

“ … You’re just gonna take my word for it? You didn’t ask for proof or anything, how do you know I’m not lying?”

“Well - why would you lie about it?”

“ … money?”

“You can just- have it-”

“Really?”

“Yea- I don’t really care- I have enough to never have to work- ever- like- I could buy a mansion three times a day, every day for the next two hundred years and that would barely scratch the surface of how much money I have- so you can just- have it.”

“ … j-jesus- wait- how much money do you have?”

“I don’t know how to pronounce the number-” 

“ …”

“Is the baby mine? Or did you actually lie-” 

“No- it’s yours … I had Luke swab your cheek while you were asleep- then four days later the results came back and … there’s pretty much a 100% chance you did it-” 

“ ... “ 

Sophia hummed, “but I know you’re with Luke and all, so don’t worry- I can take care of him myself. I didn’t come to ask for anything, I just thought you should know the truth- and it’s also a heads up in case Anthony tries to … do what he did last time-” She said. “I’m really sorry that happened to you- I knew he was sick but I didn’t think he’d do something like that.” She said. Clive … sat down, “It’s fine now- it doesn’t hurt physically anymore- but I haven’t smoked anything or- done anything in awhile. so I guess in a messed up way it helped-” Clive said. 

Sophia was quiet … “It’s okay- I know it still hurts- i’m not gonna make fun of you for being in pain-”

“I don’t wanna talk about it-” 

“... i get it- do you wanna hold the baby?” She said, and Clive looked … he looked so afraid, the truth was,  _ He had never touched a baby in his life, period. And it felt surreal that the first one he was holding, was his own, at eighteen years old. _

“Uh”

“Don’t be scared- here-” Sophia said. Clive shakily held his arms out. After a while of her giving him instructions on how to hold the dang thing. Eventually he got it, and was as stiff as a statue, staring down into the closed eyes of the weeks old person … 

“W-what’s his name?” Clive asked, and Sophia smiled, “ I liked Fadri- It means peace- i think? I just like the sound of it.” 

Clive nodded, “sounds kinda badass-” 

“ … hm- does it? Maybe I should change it then~” 

“Noo- it’s cute!” 

She smiled, “You’re cute- I wish I could stay here- but I gotta leave before someone finds me, you know how it is with these things ... “ 

Clive nodded … but neither of them moved. “You wanna keep him?” 

“ _ h-huh? _ ”

“I know you lost your parents when you were young, so I don’t imagine you’re too eager to leave your first born behind- I’m not saying you can keep him forever- but maybe just- on the weekends, or whenever you’d like to see him?” 

“ … I was gonna ask but I thought you’d say no-” Clive said, he seemed much more comfortable after a few seconds. 

“Why would I say no?” 

“I’m not that good of an influence-” 

“Well, I don’t think that- You May be a little rough around the edges but hey- guess what? I’m not the best either. Nobody around here is- but You’re what I have- and as far as I’m concerned- I got Lucky.” 

“ …” 

“Don’t- cry on his face-” Sophia snorted- taking the baby from his arms. “I’m not crying my eyes are peeing- shut up-” Clive mumbled. “Ugggghhhhh- so- who else knows so far?” 

“Well- Dahlia spent like three hours screaming at the top of her lungs about it- Anthony just- hung up on me … Luke knows but he seemed a little confused, I don’t think he understands where babies come from. He got really mad, saying you should have given the baby to him instead of me- it was so cute-” 

Clive smiled, “Lukey-” He sighed, “ um- I might have told your friend, I wanted him to tell you but he seemed busy-” 

“... he’s dating Henry- who is- a mouth full-” 

“ hm? …. Ohh i get it- wow … and how are you holding up?”

“Huh?”

“I know you had a crush on him-” 

“Yeah but- Those feelings are peanuts compared to what me and Luke have-” Clive said, out loud- and not in the very back of his mind for the first time. He looked at the baby … 

“Did i really-” He started, and Sophia nodded, “I can bring you the test results if you don’t believe me-” She said, and Clive shook his head. 

“ … I have to get going-” Sophia said, and Clive nodded. “I can go by myself- so don’t worry- and please don’t send me anything, I promise I can take care of it on my own.” 

Clive nodded … He was gonna send her something anyway, He knew the only reason she didn’t want him to do it was because she didn’t want it to seem like she just came here for money, but he already knew that wasn’t the case. She was a little like Anthony, concerned about her reputation, but since that’d gone to shit, and it was sort of his fault, he couldn’t just sit there …

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Luke happily packed some clothes, having just come home to find Clive staring at the floor, completely emotionless. He looked like he’d just survived a near death experience, but after a while of shaking him, he came back to life. 

"We leave in the morning!" Luke said, and Clive nodded … Christmas break was approaching, and Luke had plans of spending it at his parent's house. Clive didn't mind, but- he was a little afraid of what they might think of him being five feet taller than his boyfriend. And five years older … Luke was only in the seventh year of school, and Clive was about to graduate.

_ He was mostly worried about what his dad was going to say. _

Luke shoved a couple of stuffed animals into a bag as Clive sat there, still looking a little shocked. Luke worried for a second, before turning back to his suitcase. "Whats the matter?" He asked, and Clive … sighed. "i … got a girl pregnant …"

"Oh- you mean Sophia?"

"Oh- that's right- she told you already … ugh- I just- I feel like shit-" Clive said, "I  _ am  _ shit- why did i -" He groaned putting his hands over his face. " I love you- but is it weird I wanna hold my baby? I feel like i should be there but at the same time I feel like I should stay away- i don't know- and I don't wanna say anything or make her feel like she has to let me see him cause then i'd just feel worse-" Clive said, starting to ramble a little. 

Luke … stood, "we can make one- if you wanna hold a baby that bad- you just have to wait a few years-" Luke said, and Clive … blushed, "I - ah-" he mumbled, realizing this was probably not such a good thing to talk about with your boyfriend. 

" As many as you want- okay? So don't be sad!" 

Clive nodded … well, at least getting to see Luke's parents would take his mind off of it … 

_ Mostly because it was its own set of problems entirely. _

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


" …" Clive followed behind Luke, haven taken a train and two busses to get here. The neighborhood was … nice. It was surprisingly suburban. Clive … felt kind of bad, he tried not to be judgemental, but when he thought of Luke’s family and “poor” people, he thought of slums and broken houses with cracks in the windows, in bad neighborhoods where everyone gets shot, ran over, or dies of a drug overdose. 

He did remember Luke saying his parents won the lottery though … but when he realized that he’d been thinking like that, he started wondering what other kinds of stupid thoughts he had without realizing. He needed to know, before he said them outloud in front of Luke’s parents. 

Luke tried to make Clive get dressed in something more casual, but Clive … literally only had school uniforms. He never left school, they weren’t even supposed to be out here now, so there was never a need to buy other clothes. Luke was wearing the same thing, his blue skirt and all, but when Clive asked why, Luke’s only response was, “i wanna blend in.” 

Clive thought Luke was covering for him, to make him look less stupid for wearing his uniform everywhere. “ … Your hand is wet-” Luke said, and Clive pulled his hand away. “I- um … you know, maybe this isn’t all that good of an idea?” Clive said. “I’m kind of- sweating through my clothes right now- Maybe we should go back home and change?” 

“ … b-but it took us all day to get here! And I'm freezing! You promised we’d spend the break at home!” 

“ … Luke-  _ I’m gonna be honest- I was barely listening when I said that- _ ”

“Clive!” 

“I’m sorry! But- What am I even supposed to say to them? You realize how our relationship looks right? I can’t even tell people in school, everyone already calls me a nonce for dating you-” Clive said, and Luke just stared at him. “When you’re thirty five i’ll be forty one- when you’re fifteen i’ll be twenty one- this is wrong, Luke-” 

“It’s just six years- that’s not a lot of time-” 

“It- doesn’t seem like it to you because for some reason you wanna be with me but i’m telling you it’s really not normal!” 

“You weren’t saying that last night when you had your face stuffed in my chest like a baby- I wash your clothes and cook and clean and do everything you ask and you can’t even spend one christmas with me and my parents?” 

“ … F i n e” Clive said, “But you’re doing all the talking and if your dad pulls a gun on me then I want you to know It’s your fault-” 

“My dad doesn’t own guns- dummy, and he’s not insane, he won’t do that.” Luke said, pulling Clive along. “You don’t know how many times that’s happened to me- everyone always says the same thing too,  _ Oh don’t worry Clive, he won’t do anything crazy! _ ” and then I end up having a near death experience because an old man wants to kill me-” Clive said, before sighing. Luke had a big smile on his face, Clive was nervous, yes, but he was still going to try, and that was the important part. 

It usually took hours of pushing and pulling just to get Clive to eat a vegetable, so it was saying something that he was willingly going to Luke’s house for a week or two … and audibly say that he was definitely fucking Luke, they definitely kissed, Clive was dating him, and they touched and whatever else. 

Cive stopped again, about to say something before Luke pulled him along. 

  
  


They finally got to the house at the end of the street, it was … pretty big. “They bought this place, can you believe they even make houses this big? And when they’re gone they said it’s all ours-” Luke said. 

“If you still want babies then we can have plenty here” 

Clive looked up at the house … “ … Luke- wait- hold on …” Clive said. The house had a big cross on it, and a bunch of little angel decorations in the front yard. Clive stopped, and Luke looked up at himn, “Getting scared again?” 

“No- well- yes, but more importantly! Do your parents know you’re a boy, and I’m boy- you know?” 

“ … oh- well- they know you’re a boy, and … they know about our age difference but i haven’t told them yet- that i’m Luke …” Luke said. Clive … took in a breath, “I- I don’t know if this is a good idea Luke-”

“It’ll be fine! And please, when they’re around, call me Kelly-”

“ … is your name kelly?”

“My name is Luke!” Luke hit Clive in the arm, “Don’t you ever call me anything else, okay?” 

“Fine!” Clive huffed, and Luke stared at him. “ how did Luke come from kelly-” 

“Because! Kelly backwards is yllek- So you move the letters around and you get lyke- so i just changed the y into a u-” 

“ … creative-” Clive said, before he was dragged towards the door again. “Don’t tell them, okay? I don’t need you trying to be a hero here- I just need them to like you, that’s all-” Luke said, before he knocked on the door. 

Clive just stood there … before a woman in a purple sweater and huge tits and black pants and huge tits came to the door- 

_ … i wish she was  _ **_my_ ** _ mom- _ Clive thought to himself.

“Mommyyyy!” Luke said, and She looked down, “Hi babyyy! You didn’t say you were coming today!” She said, picking Luke up. 

Boobs- in Luke’s face- smothering him- Clive looked away. His mind immediately went to, 

“Oh shit what if that runs in the family Luke is gonna have!” 

And then he stopped, because he realized just how slimy of a thought that was, and he’d been asked a question, “You must be the boyfriend Kelly won’t be quiet about- I’m Brenda-” 

Luke looked at Clive, and Clive … nodded, holding his sweaty hand out, “yeah- i-i’m Clive- it’s- nice to meet you-” He said. She looked at his hand, which was glistening, and Smiled, clearly able to see that he was currently pissing himself. “You should wash your hands, and try to relax, we don’t bite-” She said, turning inside. Clive followed her in, wiping his hand on his blazer as he shut the door. 

“Claaaaark!” She yelled, Clive assumed that was his dad. Their house was so heavily decorated, there were things in every single corner. Some of it was boxes upon boxes of stuff that looked like collectables. 

Clive spotted a rare Yu-Gi-Oh card out of the corner of his eye, and He resisted the urge to release his nerd desires and inspect it. 

Luke watched Clive carefully, hoping he didn’t do anything stupid. He knew it was going to happen eventually, so he was trying to catch it before it happened. 

Clark came down the stairs, “I’m here~ I’m here~” He said. He got to the bottom of the staircase, and immediately locked eyes with Clive. 

The two seemed to have an intimate staring contest, neither of them making a single facial expression. It was quiet for a few seconds, before Clark hummed, “i see-” He said. 

_ I see? I SEE? THE HELL DOES I SEE MEAN? _

“Cwive-” Luke said, starting to fall asleep in his mom’s arms. Brenda smiled, “we’re gonna go take a nap- I’ll see you two for dinner, yes?” 

Clark nodded, and Brenda turned towards Clive, 

“ … huh? Oh- yeah- sure-” He said. 

Clark sighed, “Okay-” He said, rubbing his face a little. 

“Okay what?” Clive nervously replied. 

“ nothing it’s just- every boy Kelly brings home looks a little something like me, and it’s becoming a bit unsettling-” 

“ … um- I’m pretty sure we look nothing alike-” 

“It’s the hair-” 

“The- huh-” Clive pulled out his phone, and stared at his hair … “i- … oh-” He said, sort of seeing it. Weird, Luke’s attracted to guys that look like his dad, well okay then. 

“Well, come with me- leave your bags on the floor there” Clark said, turning into the kitchen. Clive dropped his stuff, and followed him, watching him pick an Axe up from the wall … 

_ Oh god, oh god- oh god oh god oh god _

He continued to follow, “where- are we going?” 

“To get more firewood- I ran out a couple days ago and Brenda thinks it’d be nice if we all sat around the fire and ate together-” Clark said, “Of course- I also have questions-” He opened the door. Clive nodded, being met once again by the harsh cold of the december air. The two walked out into the backyard, “ we were planning to go to a spa, we have some leftover money, a vacation sounded nice. There’s this hot spring Kelly has been talking about for a while.” Clark said. Clive thought about that for a second …

“Is it a mixed or seperate bath?”

“... what?” Clark asked, turning to him. 

“The bath- the bath man, is it mixed or separate-” 

“It’s- separate- why?” 

“ _ Lame _ ” Clive mumbled, and Clark … “You know, I thought you’d be shorter-” 

“I thought you’d be older- I was expecting a sick old man with a cane to come crawling down the stairs-” Clive said, and Clark cringed, “ah- what gave you that impression?” He asked. The two had walked into the woods by now, and Clive was looking around. He didn’t do … outside. He was an inside dog, the forest wasn’t his thing. “Well, I heard about you being sick, and after that I just- Had this image in my head I guess-” Clive said, tripping a little on the root of a tree. 

“Careful-” Clark mumbled, “and, I had a flu, and Arrhythmia, I needed a pacemaker- and somehow I ended up getting the money for one-” He said. “If I didn’t, there was a good chance I was going to die-” He said, turning to look at Clive, who was listening. “I hear you’re wealthy, during the time of the surgery, we were receiving these mysterious checks for Luke’s academics. I called the school up and they said there was no such thing, so I was wondering … did you have anything to do with it?” Clark asked, and Clive hummed … 

“Nope-” He said. “Lu- Kelly told me not to help, and I pretty much do what he- she says when it comes to things like that.” Clive said. Calling Luke anything other than Luke just felt so wrong. 

“I see … you know, you can tell me if it was you. I’d like to meet the person who did so much for us, you have no idea what that meant-” Clark said. “To think my daughter is dating such a good person, I need to know-” 

Clive was quiet …

SHIT- 

If he told Clark then he’d be in the green with Luke’s dad for sure, but Luke would probably not like it. Plus, he didn’t wanna seem like, some snobby rich guy who just came to flex on them or something, god he hated this so much … but if it really meant that much, he should probably confess. He could only imagine what it must be like, almost losing a loved one, only for mysterious forces to come in and suddenly change that. 

“ … it- it was- but- I only did it because of l- K-kelly” Clive said. “I wanted to make sure things would be okay, I didn’t wanna see her upset because something happened to her parents- she means a lot to me and I just …” Clive shrugged. “It felt important-” He said. 

Clark turned, “Yes- it was very important- you have no idea what you did, but thank you … This seems far enough away-” he said, and Clive looked at him … 

“Is this the part where I start running for my life?” He said, and Clark hummed. “That depends, what are your intentions with my daughter-” He said. 

“ … “ 

“ … “ 

“ I-” Clive started, before he stopped …

“Well?” Clark said. Clive was running a million calculations in his head, before he finally came up with an answer. 

“Pregnant” 

… There was a very, very long pause, where Clark just stared at him, wondering if he heard himself. 

“My bad- I meant to say I wanna get married when we finish school- since we’re both at a college prep school, even though I graduate this year, I’ll still be in school for another four years- and by then Luke will be done with highschool .... So I wanted to find somewhere where we could live together when that happens … so he could be comfortable while he’s pregnant-” 

“Who- who is Luke?” 

“ … OH- I- um -I call Kelly Luke, and I just- use male pronouns, we kind of have a thing with that- it’s an inside joke-” Clive nervously said. 

“So let me get this straight … your intentions are to impregnate my daughter the moment she finishes highschool- and vaguely marry her- and that’s it …” 

“ … you make it sound bad- of course there’s more to it than that!” 

“Are you stupid?”    
  


“Rude-” Clive mumbled, “I really am serious about being with her- I swear-” 

“It seems- like you just have some strange pregnancy fixation-”

“Maybe- but there’s more to it than that of course!” 

“Like what?”

“Like- i don’t know! I just … I’ve never thought about my future with anyone else before so I know there must be some- long term thing I want but I really just wanna be with her- I wanna keep living together- that’s it …” Clive said. 

He’d honestly kill just to have Luke in his presence every day. “I’m fucking this up aren’t i-” Clive said, and Clark nodded, “I was a second away from cutting your head off, but you saved it with that last line-” 

“ … s-so- you’re not going to chase me around the woods with an axe?” 

“ … that depends- what do you think of benda?” 

“ … um-” 

“Just tell me the first thing you noticed- and be honest-”

“ … she has blue eyes-” 

“ Her eyes are brown.” 

“Are they?” Clive said, taking his glasses off. “I didn’t notice anything else, I was too busy looking around. Your house is really nice on the inside, and the decorations on the outside were kind of distracting-” 

Clark sighed, “Well- This was very entertaining, but I really did come out here to get wood- so you’re going to have to carry it-” 

“ huh? Why me?” 

“I wouldn’t trust you with a butter knife, and I don’t feel like carrying it myself-” 

Clive sighed, “I guess-” He mumbled. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Luke stood in the backyard, dressed in a really fluffy dress. His mom had a habit of dressing him up in weird clothes, right now he was supposed to be an angel, with the wings and halo and all. He had crumbs on his face, of course Brenda wouldn’t let Luke be hungry for a second. He was currently full of cookies, waiting on Clive to get back home. 

He got excited, seeing his dad walking back with a pile of wood, shakily coming behind him. “Clive?” Luke said, once they got Close enough. Clark stopped, and Clive bumped into him, dropping all of the wood on the ground … 

“ … Damn it-” He hissed, and Clark shook his head, “Just grab a few pieces- you can leave the rest there-” he said. Clive did just that, not understanding why he was forced to watch this man threateningly chop wood for the past hours, occasionally skiing him trick questions. This just wasn’t fair! 

Clive looked up at Luke … and looked down. 

Not fair- not fair- not fair- Why is Luke dressed like an angel? He looks so soft too! And so cute- what the heck? Clive stood, He never wanted to touch another tree again. He didn’t like getting dirt and stuff on his hands, it was gross, and he had a habit of touching his face so he was gonna get acne and wait …

He ran those words through his mind, “ _ i sound like a bitch- what am I complaining about? It’s just a tree- _ ” Clive thought. A bunch of wood … with- a creature crawling on it. 

Oh .. a snail, how lovely- 

Clive screamed, and dropped the wood, running inside to go scrub his hands clean. Luke … hummed, “I got it-” He said, walking towards the pile of wood. “Thank you, Luke-” 

“ … h-huh?”

“I like that name- it’s cute- suits you- not sure if i get the joke though-” Clark said. Luke blushed, “Oh- it’s like kelly- but backwards- with the letters mixed up- minus the y- it’s um .. an inside joke-” Luke said. Clark gave him a pat on the head, “yeah?” he said, not understanding, but still wanting to be supportive. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Clive sat next to Luke on the couch, feeding him cake while they watched unboxing videos underneath. Clive was full of food by this point. And so was Luke, both of them rolled up a blanket, sitting in an armchair made for one person. The living room had turned into the cuddle room, Clark and Brenda were both on the couch, under a blanket, asleep on each other. 

“ … He got the rare one!” Clive said, and Luke nodded, wondering what was so special about these cards. Clive seemed to enjoy them, but did they do anything? 

Luke opened his mouth, “caaaake” he said. 

“Sorry~” Clive picked up the spoon, continuing to feed Luke. “How in the world are you still eating anyways? And why did your mom cook so much-” Clive said. Most of it was gone, it would be rude to waste food, so he tried to eat everything they gave him, but it just- kept- piling up! They kept giving him more and more to eat- he was surprised he hadn’t gained weight immediately. 

“Because … she doesn’t want us to go hungry- we didn’t use to be able to eat like this-” Luke said, “You wouldn’t get it- having a lot of food to eat is new for us-” Luke said. 

“ … oh” Clive said, and Luke nuzzled him. There was no more cake left on the plate, and Clive had sneakily eaten one of the strawberries. 

“ … so- you survived my dad- most boys don’t get that far- but i knew he’d like you-” 

“ … d-does he like me? I couldn’t tell-” Clive said. Luke nodded, “yea he likes you! He thinks you’re funny- he said it was fun hanging out with you-” 

“ oh- dude- he was looking at me like he wanted to kill me the whole time- and I said such a stupid thing- he asked what my intentions were and  _ i fucking said pregnant- _ ” Clive whispered to Luke, who smiled. “ dummy- it’s okay- you were nervous-” Luke said, starting to fall asleep. 

Clive sighed … he should probably put the fire out, but he just wanted to lay here. 

Yes, nervous, that was what he was … 


	25. Bundle of sticks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke and Clive play DDR

" Clive-" Luke said … attempting to wake him up. Clive hadn't slept at all, he was still in bed, just laying there asleep … Luke's tiny bed was barely big enough for them both, so Luke sat on Clive's stomach, poking him in the face. It would be nice if he got up right about now, but Luke knew he was probably up all night staring at a wall, wishing he could go to sleep …

Luke sighed, and got up, making his way to his closet. The door opened, and he turned his head, "Good morning you two~!" Brenda said, happy as ever. "Oh- is that boy still asleep?" 

"He didn't sleep last night- i think- is it okay if he stays asleep?" 

"Hm? Nonsense! He's probably gotten in the habit of staying up all night playing games, the only way to have him fix his sleeping habits is to keep him up in the day so he'll fall asleep at night- plus we're going out today!” She said. 

They were currently in their cabins, up in the mountain of a remote getaway. Luke and Clive had their separate one, while Clark and Brenda had theirs. 

And yet … there was only one little bed in here. 

Luke looked over at Clive, before walking up to him. He pushed at his arms, and Clive groaned, “fuck … off- pukey” He mumbled. Luke huffed, “that isn’t very nice!” He said, before Clive rolled over. “What.” He said, not opening his eyes. Luke paused, just looking at him for a second. He leaned forward, “you gotta get up-” Luke said, in a soft voice. 

“No.”

Luke kissed Clive’s cheek, “pleeeeeaaaaseeeee” He said, and Clive slowly sat up. “You didn’t have to get all gay about it …” He said, rubbing his eyes. Luke smiled, “Well it’s only gonna get worse if you don’t get up and get dressed! We’re going on a walk today-” Luke said. Clive just looked at him … “ 

He hesitantly reached out, picking Luke up, giving him a kiss before he set him down on the bed. “Good morning-” He mumbled, and Luke sat still …

“What was that for?”

“What do you mean what was that for?! You’re the one who went on a whole rant about how we should kiss each other in the morning! what do you want?!” 

“ …” Luke sat there for a second, before turning red, “g-good morning! Do you want some coffee?” Luke asked, getting up. “I’ll be back- in a second- with coffee-” 

“Luke i don’t drink co-”

“Bye!”

“ …” Clive watched Luke slam himself through the door, running away in his pajamas … he was embarrassed, that’s so cute … Clive sighed, wondering why he’d ask for it if he wasn’t ready. Luke probably thought he wouldn’t do it, that Clive wouldn’t even wanna kiss him in the morning, that he’d just kick him out of bed like he always did. 

Clive squinted down at the floor, wondering just how easy was it to get Luke flustered? 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Luke held onto his parent’s hands, walking in between them as Clive trailed somewhere behind. He seemed distracted by everything going on in the little mountain city. It seemed like there was a street carnival going on. 

Clive walked up to Luke, unwrapping something before he stuck it in his mouth.

"cLimph!" Luke said in a panic, before stopping … he tasted it .. it was good, it was round, hard candy that started to melt in his mouth immediately. " … what is this?" Luke said, and Clive smiled, "I don't know!" he said, continuing to look around at everything. Brenda smiled, "I see-" she said and Luke looked up at her … 

_ What's that supposed to mean _ -

"There's an arcaaaaadee!" Came an ecstatic yell, and Luke immediately ran after him. "Clive no, we're not here for that!" 

"You two hang out with each other, Brenda and I are gonna go look around-" 

Luke nodded, running to catch up to Clive. He walked inside the arcade, which was a little place that seemed to serve pizza. Luke walked in, seeing Clive at the token machine. 

Luke ran up to him, "D-don't buy all of them! Leave some for other people!" He said, and Clive turned, "Of course! You know you can just ask them to replace it right? I'm not gonna drain the machine-" Clive said, proceeding to fill a large sized cup with tokens. 

"T-that's a lot!" Luke said, and Clive tilted his head, "not really- i just watched them fill it- i promise i'm not taking them all Luke I wouldn't do that-" 

"It seems like something you'd do-"

"It isn't." 

Luke hummed … "well- can I have some too?" He asked, and Clive snorted, "Duh- the whole thing isn't for me-" he said, handing Luke a cup. It was a little smaller, but he filled it up completely with tokens, which weighed it down in Luke's arms by … a lot. Luke had to admit … he didn’t really play games like that. It wasn’t that he didn’t get it, or he didn’t find them fun, he just had other interests that took up his time, and he never thought of video games as something he should do. 

Unlike Clive, who stayed up all night doing just that. The neon carpet of the arcade seemed to dim as Luke got closer to where all the games were kept. He stared at it all, the place was beautiful, led lights hanging from the ceiling like fireflies as the sound of nerdy teens and 8-bit music filled him with … excitement? He followed behind Clive, not really wanting to be left alone. Clive turned his head, and saw that Luke was still underneath him … He started to think, they should spend some time together, right? But playing games is probably only something Clive would wanna do- 

So he started to think about what they could both do together, that wouldn’t be completely boring for either of them … and then he spotted it out of the corner of his eye, a DDR machine. 

“Hey- you don’t mind dancing in public right?” Clive said as Luke continued looking around in awe at everything. “Dancing?” Luke asked, and Clive hummed, “That thing over there- with the arrows-” he pointed, and Luke’s eyes went wide, “Oh! I’ve seen that thing before!” He said, running over to it. Clive followed behind him, happy he at least knew what the machine was. Luke got up onto it, “You step on these arrow things and it does- something- right?”

“Yeah- It’s a dancing game! Look-” Clive said, setting the cup of tokens down on the floor. He put in two for Luke, and moved the song selection. “There’ll be a thing that’s gonna come up- the arrows will move and you have to step on them when they reach the top- but you have to time it right-” He said, flipping through the song selection. He picked an easy one, of course. He wasn’t gonna start Luke out with Legend of Maxx and kill his legs. Luke looked down, “so i just step on it when it comes up?” He asked, and Clive nodded. He started the song, and moved out of the way, watching Luke play …

He moved … and after stepping on a few tiles, he seemed to get bored. “This is fun and all- but why’s it so slow?” 

“I started you off on an easy one- You can go faster if you want but I was just trying to-”

“How do you make it go faster?” Luke said, and Clive watched the screen … Luke was getting an FC. “um ..” He said, getting distracted. He waited until Luke finished, and he walked back over to the screen. “How slow was that for you?” He asked, Flipping through the song selection. 

“Extremely! I felt like I could do that with my eyes closed-” 

“Alright- well- what about-” He hummed, and paused on a song called “bi” as luke pulled his arms. “This one! This one!!” He yelled, “It has a cute girl on it!” 

“... it’s- sort of fast- are you sure?” 

“Yeah!” 

Clive … just shrugged, and put it on, deciding to play with him. He stepped up to the other side of the machine, “press that button-” He said, watching Luke start the song. He hoped Luke could keep up, but something told him he could. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Brenda had a wide smile on her face as she watched Clark attempt to explain what he just said. “It’s not like that- soap is soap so what does it matter if you wash your hair with body wash?”

“Would you brush your teeth with shampoo?”

“Of course not!”

“Well I don’t get it- soap is soap right?” She said, and Clark shrugged, “If I could brush my teeth with shampoo i’d do it- trust me-”

“Hm-” She resisted the urge to laugh, “I bet you would, wouldn’t you?” She said. Clark crossed his arms, “Well- it’s getting dark, you ready to go?”

“Yes, but- aren’t you a bit concerned?” 

“About what?” 

“About …” She stopped, looking into the arcade where she’d left Luke. “oh- look at them!” She said, her smile growing as she gripped Clark’s arm, “If that isn’t the cutest thing! Take a picture!” She said. 

“You’re the one with the camera-”

“Oh! You’re right!” She said, pulling the camera out of her bra … 

Clark tried not to think about it too much, it was necessary for survival. He did, however, see a kid run into a wall at the sight. 

He should say something …  _ nah- _

Brenda took as many pictures as she could of Luke and Clive dancing together at the DDR machine. Luke was mirroring Clive’s movements, and Clive was doing the same, both of them aligning their steps with the beat of the machine. They looked like they were in sync almost, if Clive wasn’t so tall you’d think they were direct copies of each other with the way they moved. “That’s so sweet …” Brenda said, “I’m so happy Luke found a friend- aren’t you?” she said, and Clark nodded, listening to her talk. 

She went on about how great it was, and how nice it was, and how cute it was, but he could only think about one thing … 

_ “So he can be comfortable … while he’s pregnant-”  _

Clark was trying to let it go, but that kind of stupidity- He was incredibly worried. To say it at all, but to say it to his face …

He sighed, “Looks like they’ll be playing for a while, you wanna go and get something to- Brenda?” Clark looked around, she was gone. Oh no- not again- 

He turned towards the DDR machine, and followed her in, seeing her excitedly cheering them on. Neither of them looked away from the screen though. It wasn’t until someone was running by, and a guy who was watching the two with a piece of pizza in his hand, and a cup of soda was bumped into. 

The pizza went through the air, liquid spilling onto Luke, who flinched, and fell forward onto Clive. 

The two hit the ground with a thud, Clive putting his arms around Luke on instinct as the wind was sort of knocked out of him. “Ugh-” He mumbled, opening his eyes to see both of their scores being shattered by missed notes. Luke sat up, covered in soda, a pepperoni and some cheese stuck in his hair …

“C-cwive- my outfit-” he said, the tears in his eyes starting to show themselves. 

Clive … felt- his anger build faster than it ever had, and he looked up, locking eyes with the random, pizza eating guy. 

The dude stiffened, but Clive didn’t say anything, he just looked. 

“ … i- i’m sorry”

“ **_Watch where the fuck you’re going_ ** ”

“Right- right!” the dude took off, and Clive huffed, looking down at Luke. He started picking cheese out of his hair, “what if I get grease stains in my shirt? This is my favorite shirt!” Luke whined, being picked up as Clive stood. “It’s fine- look. We’re going to the hot springs- they have a spa there- we’ll wash your clothes- and you can relax for the rest of the day-” Clive said. 

Brenda just watched them … “Clark, look how cute they are!”

“I- I see-” He said, watching Clive kiss Luke’s face, in public- making Luke giggle and put his hands over Clive’s mouth like there was nobody around …

They certainly didn’t seem that close when they first got here, he squinted, people were walking away, some of them staring. 

Clive looked at the machine, and sighed, “Um- let’s leave before they make us pay for that, yeah?” He said, and Luke nodded. He was so small, Clive just carried him out without even thinking about it. 

“I wanna be carried around like that~” Brenda said, and Clark hummed, “so do i-” He said. 

She grinned, and held her arms out, “Come on! I’ll carry you there and you can carry me back!”

“Can you even pick me up?” 

“I can try!” 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Luke stood outside the entrance to the male bath with Clive, listening to him nervously complain about having to go in. they both stood there, in robes, Brenda waiting for Luke at the opposite door. “and why can’t we bathe together anyways? You’re my boyfriend!” 

“Because! Pervert- it’s separate- You can’t come in the girls bath so no peeking- no climbing over the wall or trying to find cracks or anything like that! Besides- You’re gonna need to make up for what you said before-” 

“ hmf-” Clive said, trying to ignore the two other girls walking past him, into the bath. And ignore the fact that they’re completely naked under those robes. 

And Brenda was standing there naked under hers- 

And Luke was naked under his …

“Hey! You’re a boy- come in here with me!”

“Clive you know exactly why I can’t come in there with you-” 

“Cause you wanna go and look, you little sleaze - if I have to go have a sausage party then so do you!”

“Stop complaining- You’re gay anyways!”

“I- … fine-” Clive huffed. 

He didn’t need to be reminded, now his mind was swarming with all those other thoughts, and he was suddenly filled with anxiety … because he is … in fact … gay. Well, bisexual, but- that didn’t change the fact that he suspiciously had a thing for guys twice his size, and there happened to be a lot of grown single dads here and- 

“Go take a bath with my dad- have fun-” 

“Wait! Why’d you have to say it like that! Don’t leave me!”

But it was too late, and he was left to stand there and think gay thoughts … Even while he was in the shower he ended up getting distracted by some guy offering to wash his back, which was- weird-

He sighed, and turned towards the door. Alright- alright fine- 

He opened it, and walked inside, closing the wooden door as he pulled off the fluffy white robe. He set it down next to Clark’s. It was … quiet in here. He looked up … 

_ It was just Clark, who was staring, clearly disturbed … _

“What-” Clive said, and Clark tried to think of what to say. 

“What … is that-” was all that came out, and Clive looked down … “o-oh- it just- I don’t know- it’s just like that-” he said, unable to explain why it was the size of an elephant’s trunk. He awkwardly walked forward. “Lucky you … i suppose-” Clark said, Clive could tell he was trying to imagine how the hell Clive was supposed to fit that thing inside of Luke’s tiny body. 

Spoiler, it was very painful, and it didn’t really work all that well, but … you know, they did it- once, so. 

“Not really- it’s kind of annoying trying to-” Clive stepped in, and his foot was set on fire by how hot the water was. He stopped … “trying to make it less noticeable under my clothes … and- it obviously freaks people out so it’s not as easy to get with someone as you’d think …” Clive said, putting his foot in the water. 

“How are you sitting in there like that? It’s boiling-”

“... you’re quite the bundle of sticks, you hate the outside, hot water-”

“Did you just call me a bunch of sticks- what does that mean?”

“Look it up when you get home-”

“Wh- tell me now!” Clive said, sitting down at the edge of the water. “No- but I will tell you that you should really learn to keep your temper in check, i saw the look you were giving that guy in the arcade, if he didn’t run away, you would have fought him wouldn’t you?”

“He messed up Luke’s clothes! And got cheese in his hair- and made him cry!” Clive said, “ _ I would kill someone- _ ” he mumbled, slowly starting to get into the water. 

“Didn’t Kelly tell you otherwise-? You can’t go around beating up everyone that gets on your nerves, that’s advice from experience.” 

“ … i can do what I want- and if someone tries me then they better be able to take a hit-” 

“I doubt you could win, when you can barely handle a little hot water-”

“This water burns! You’re not human!” 

Clark snorted, and Clive got in … how extremely uncomfortable, especially around the more sensitive parts. It burned- 

“... ugh-” He mumbled, it was really relaxing though, he had to admit that … “so- I wanna know more about Luke-” Clive said, and Clark shrugged. “She likes to dress up, but I wouldn’t be fooled- she likes to argue-”

“ I- I thought it was just me!” Clive said, and it was, but-

“Sweet but small, soft and cute- smells like baby powder most of the time- super light-”

“...” 

Clark was so clearly gushing …

“ _ Lolicon- _ ” Clive mumbled. Siscon Luke- and his Lolicon dad- It all made sense- he had to wonder … what about Brenda?

“Oh I forgot the question-” Clark mumbled, a smile on his face. “Um … yea- Luke’s great isn’t he?” Clive said, and Clark nodded, “ My Kelly is the best thing to ever happen to me- I don't think I could live without her- Every day she gets older but her body hasn’t changed one bit since she was ten-”

Clive … hummed, yup, Lolicon. Incestuous Lolicon … 

“What if he’s like that forever-” Clive said, and Clark chuckled, “I doubt it! Look at her mother, after all-”

“Yeah but I mean … Luke is thirteen, don’t you think he would have grown something by now? I mean, even with his clothes off there’s barely anything there-”

“ _ You’ve seen? _ ”

“ … o-oh- sorry I- It was an accident- He was on the rag and I accidentally - it … it’s a long story-” Clive said, and Clark shook his head, “No, tell me! How flat?”

“ … well- they look like mosquito bites to me-”

“ _ Amazing- _ ”

“... hm …” Clive wondered … 

“ _ And it’s all right over that wall, you wanna look as much as I do, right _ ?”

“... absolutely not-”

“ _ You hesitated. _ ”

“I did not!”

“ _ Think of the tiny- tiny nipples- you know you want to- _ ”

“How childish, respect their privacy.”

“You know they-” Clive stopped, hearing a couple of giggles coming from the other side, he turned, seeing a shadow quickly move between the cracks of the fence. 

“They-  _ they’re looking! See?! “ _ Clive said, getting up. 

“No we’re not!” Came a voice from the other side. 

“Yes you are! I see you!” 

There was a giggle, and Clive put his face up to the fence. 

“I wouldn’t do that-”

“You wouldn’t know …” Clive mumbled, trying to see something, anything. He could see Luke for a split second, sitting sort of alone. Luke looked up, and Clive felt his heart melt a little … and then he was stuck in the eye with a pen. 

“KHHHHHH-” He pulled away from the fence, “My- eye-” He winced, trying not to scream. 

“That’s what you get!  _ What did you see? _ ” 

“Shut it old man!  _ I saw Luke!”  _

“Who are you talking to?!  _ Really? _ ”

“ _ Yeah he was sitting by himself- his … actually- why am I telling you? Coward- come over here and see for yourself!” _ Clive said. Clark thought about it for a second … 

“Privacy.”

“It’s private alright-” Clive mumbled … 

“What is that running down your face?” Clark asked, and Clive reached up, touching the liquid on his face … black fluid coated his fingers. “Oh … I almost got hair dye in the water- I didn’t think it’d come off- good thing I wasn’t in I guess …”

“You dyed your hair?”

“Yeah -”

“And you painted your nails?”

“ … I know it sounds weird but everyone sort of does it now! It’s like- a thing to paint your nails black- and actually Luke painted them for me ..”

“ … but you dyed your hair on your own-”

“... well- okay- it’s because i messed it up before and I wanted it all to look normal so I dyed it black-”

“What? What color was it before?”

“Uh- well- i had this orange dye- but my natural hair color is brown, so when I used it- it sort of messed it up, so I kept re-dying it until my hair was this weird brown orange color and- it was a mess-” Clive said. 

“What did you dye your hair for?”

“Because it’s- a thing-”

“To dye your hair?”

“Yes.”

“And paint your nails-”

“If you’re implying i’m gay you can just say so, I don’t see why we have to run around in circles about it-” 

“ … are you?”

“ …” Clive thought about that for a second … WHAT WAS THE RIGHT ANSWER HERE? If he said yes, what would Clark think? But he didn’t wanna say no, what was wrong with being gay? But sometimes it’s not a good idea to come out, not everyone is so accepting, “i’m not- that much should be easy to tell by now …” He said, and Clark hummed … “it’s okay, Luke told us you were-”

“H-he did?!”

“No, but i’ll take that as you admitting it-”

“I- you-  _ tricked me- _ ”

“What do your parents think? Have you told them yet?” 

“ …” Clive nodded, “um … yeah- they- said it’s fine- they’re pretty laid back …”

“I see …” Clark said. “I look forward to meeting them,” he said, and Clive nodded … yeah. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Clive stepped out of the bathroom, Luke was laying in bed, waiting for him. “Did you look through the fence?” He asked. 

“Nope-”

“... it felt like you were looking at me-”

“I didn’t-”

“Are you lying?”

“Of course not- did you know your dad has a huge weird crush on you?”

“Was he the one that looked? Yeah he’s been like that-” Luke said, “I don’t know why, he just- is like that- but you- you’re acting weird!” Luke said, moving over as Clive sat down on their bed. “Hm?”

“You’re … smiling! And stuff- you don’t have to pretend to be all happy just because we’re with my parents, I want them to know the real you …”

“ … this- sort of- is the real me? I guess- I um-” Clive looked down, “I act like that at school because I don’t want anyone messing with me, and I never had many friends so I’m kinda seen as a … loser? It just- makes it easier if people are scared of me- they won’t try anything- but i’m not really … like that-” Clive said. “Sorry if it’s weird i’m different all of a sudden- i can just- stop if it’s weird-”

“... it’s okay … so did my face look red?”

“Sorta- looked like you were blushing-” 

“You DID look!” Luke whined, punching Clive in his arm, continuing to hit him as he leaned away. “ I told you not to look!” 

“Sorry!” 

“Sleep on the floor!” Luke said, going underneath the blanket. 

“ … hey- What’s a bundle of sticks-”

“ you-”

“But- ugfh! Fine-” Clive huffed, laying down in bed next to Luke. He turned their lamp off and pulled out his phone. 

Bundle … of … sticks …

Oh- 


	26. Never happened

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clive finally tells Luke he loves him, and they have a heart to heart conversation.

Luke watched Clive sleep … getting a little bored waiting for everyone to wake up. He went to sleep early because he was tired, but now he was up early. Luke hummed, and looked down at Clive …

He slept with his shirt off …

Boobs-

Luke put his face down on Clive’s chest … and sighed. He poked at the slightly stiff but just squishy enough. And for some reason he shaved his chest so it was smooth, and soft, soft boobs. 

“Luke ... “ Clive mumbled in his sleep, making a vague kicking motion. 

_ ‘Can’t kick me out of bed now huh? _ ’ Luke thought to himself. He opened his mouth, biting Clive’s chest, wrapping his arms around his waist. “...” Luke looked up, seeing Clive hazily looking down at him …

“Stop- that …” He said, before going back to sleep. 

“Wake up already-”

“No …”

“If you don’t wake up i’m gonna bite you!”

“... Luke- what did you use to do when you were little?” 

“ … huh?”

“Like- what kind of stuff did you and your parents do? What was school like-?”

“Why are you asking me?”

“I don’t know- cause I can’t ask anyone else without sounding like a creep?”

“ … Um- well- it was … hard? When I was little we didn’t have a lot- obviously, but having my parents there- i didn’t know my life wasn’t normal until I started school. It didn’t really bother me, because I have my mom and dad. We used to do everything together, oh! And this is the first christmas where we’ll actually be able to get something for each other! And I’m not saying i’m expecting you to get me something but I got you something and i’d really appreciate this really pretty tea set-” 

“ … what? How did you get me anything? I don’t even know what i’d want-” Clive said, and Luke huffed, “I know what you want- you won’t be disappointed-” Luke assured him, putting his head on Clive’s chest … 

“What is it?”

“You’ll see-”

“Hm” Clive kissed Luke’s cheek, “well I’m up, so good morning-” He said, watching Luke’s smile fill the whole room with an intensive light. “Good morning! Today we’re going down the mountain to the fair!” 

“The fair?”

“Yeah! So dress nice! I’m gonna win you something!” 

“Hm …  _ not if i win you something first _ ”

“Is that a challenge?”

“Yeah-”

  
“Well when you lose i’m gonna make you do whatever I say for a month just like you did to me- and then i’ll make you dress up like a butler every day and wash your own clothes!” 

“... well i’m not doing that so be prepared to suck dick for another month-” 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Clive stood at the gates of the fair grounds, looking up at everything. All the rides, all the lights, the smell of food … it was all- too much. For some reason he felt extremely anxious, Luke had dressed him in a white shirt, green flannel unbuttoned on top of it. Luke himself was wearing a green hoodie, both of them wearing black pants with rips in them. Luke was on Clive’s shoulders, looking down at everything as they moved forward in line.

“ ooh- you wanna go ride that first?” Luke asked, pointing to a roller coaster that looked like it could induce a heart attack. Clive hummed … “I thought we were coming to play games?” He said, trying to hide the fact that he was pissing himself. 

“We can do that too! We’ll be here for a while!” Luke said, and Clive nodded. Shit. 

He stopped, taking their tickets out of his pocket as he got up to the booth. “Alright- hand-” Said the girl working the counter. She looked up at Clive … “ Hey! You’re that guy! Oh my god-” 

“Uh-”

She quickly wrapped the entry band around his wrist, doing the same for Luke. “Your friend is here! Oh my god this drama-” She said, and Clive tilted his head, “what friend?”

“Oh you know! The one with the glasses who always has something weird to say!” 

“ … Dez-  _ Dez is here _ -” Clive said, “Thank you!” he added as he walked off, continuously mumbling desmond’s name as he looked around. Luke watched him … great. Well, this wasn’t going to be fun. He sighed, looking down at the grass as Clive started to run around, looking for his friend. Luke wondered if he was really here, if he was then they’d find each other in no time … unless- 

“Hey!” Luke said, putting his hands over Clive’s face. Clive stopped, “what? Can it wait? I have to find-!”

“Let’s do that!” Luke said, pointing over to one of those ring toss things. 

“... later!” 

“Now!”

“But Luuuuukeeee what if he’s here? And we don’t find each other! We could all be doing this stuff together!” 

“But …”

Luke sighed, letting his head rest on Clive’s shoulders, “You always forget about me when you two are together- and I never know what you’re talking about so I just end up being quiet the whole time- I wanna talk to you and do stuff together-” 

“Well- we’re literally always together- I can’t even sleep without you so you’ll have plenty of chances to talk to me-”

“But what about today? We won’t be able to do any of this stuff again until next year! And what then? Are you gonna ditch me again next year too? We go back to school in a month so it’s not even like you won’t see him again-”

“Luke it’s not that serious- I just wanna see him- he’s my best friend-”

“Well you’re  _ my  _ best friend-”

“Um- no- Dahlia is your best friend- remember?”   
  


“No- Clive- YOU are my best friend.” Luke said, hanging onto him. 

Clive stood there for a second … “since when?”

“What do you mean since when?! Since we met? You were the first person I met at school! And the only person who’s always there! Of everyone you know the most about me! You’re the person I tell everything- you’re the person i’d come to if i need help- I trust you- you really don’t feel the same way?” Luke said … “I keep thinking that you’re gonna leave me for him one day or something-” he mumbled. 

“ oh-” Clive said. He didn’t … think Luke really cared about him like that, honestly.

It was quiet for a second … Clive looked around, and walked over a bench, sitting down. He pulled Luke down next to him, “I- sorry-” Clive said, and Luke shook his head. “No i- i’m sorry- you’ve known him longer than you’ve known me so it’s only natural you’d wanna see him- and you two are pretty dependant-” 

“Yeah- I’m honestly just- i’m worried about him.” Clive said. “I have you- you can keep me under control- but Dez doesn’t have anything like that. He doesn’t have someone to be there for him with me gone, and Henry isn’t going to do that for him.”

Luke hummed … “you should just go-” He said, and Clive shook his head, “we’re on a date- our first date- i’m not gonna ditch you for someone who’s with  _ my ex of all fucking people- _ ” Clive said. “And i’m definitely still sort of mad at him for convincing me to hang out with that asshole- if i would have just trusted my gut and never gone in the first place it’d be fine- but i listened to HIM instead- and I don’t even know why they were talking to each other behind my back! The whole thing is just- It … you know what? Luke- you’re my best friend too-” Clive said. 

Luke looked up, “what? Why?”

“Because … you just are-” He said. “You and your big head haven’t hurt me yet-” He said, and Luke huffed, “My head isn’t big!” 

“Yeah it is-”

“No it’s not! Let’s go already! All this talking is making me sad- I wanna play!” Luke said, and Clive nodded, getting up. “I’m not playing ring toss though, that game is a scam-” He said, holding his arms out. Luke looked around … “oh! Let’s go find mom and dad and see what they’re doing!” Luke said, and Clive nodded … now they just needed to find said mom and dad. With all the people walking around here, that would be much easier said than done. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Clive stood in a bathroom stall by himself … he needed to pee, but then his phone began buzzing out of control. He checked it, to see that the unknown number had sent him a million text messages. They were all warning him, warning him about Dez, and Henry, telling him all of this terrible shit. Clive had just about had it with this person, so he texted back, 

“Just tell me who you are already, I’m sick of talking to my phone.”

_ I tried, you never showed up for whatever reason … I can’t tell you who I am, You’re going to have to meet me, but you still need to listen to what i have to say! _

“But everything you’re saying is bullshit!”

_ It’s not! Your friend isn’t your friend, he’s been using you for money. All those girls who were just dying to get with you, the rich girls with money to spare, they’d pay him fat stacks of cash just to be in a room with you. How do you think he’s been paying his tuition? He’s told you time and time again that he’s dead broke, He’s been doing this to you since you met him. _

“Dez wouldn’t do that.”

_ Then please, enlighten me, how can someone with no money afford to go to such a prestigious school? Luke had to win the lottery to get in, how do you explain it? _

“I don’t know, but that doesn’t mean Dez is pimping me …”

_ Then why is he with Henry all of a sudden, even after what you told him? How come He made you go to Alfendi's place, someone who would definitely pay to be with you. I’ll tell you what happened, Anthony and Alfendi both paid Dez an absurd amount of money to get you into that room, and you went because you trusted him.  _

“Okay well, he’s been ignoring me, how’s he supposed to do all of that when i’m not around?”

_ Are you stupid? His boyfriend is rich, he doesn’t need you anymore.  _

… Clive stood there … he didn’t type, he didn’t talk, he just stood there, unable to comprehend anything he’d just heard. 

“ I don’t believe you- Dez kicked the shit out of Alfendi that day, there’s no way he would have done that, it doesn’t add up.”

_ He didn’t think you’d get raped, so he was upset, but only because it meant you’d be too depressed to go anywhere, and he wouldn’t make any more money off of you for a while … Why do you think everyone was so opposed to you finding a date? Why do you think he would willingly scare those girls away? Why do you think they call him the obstacle?  _

“Stop, just- stop. You’re fucking lying, you have to be.”

_ I know it’s hard to hear, but I just can’t sit here and watch you almost throw away the one person who cares about you. You were going to ditch Luke to be with Dez today, and I honestly couldn’t believe my eyes … _

“ … You’re here?”

_ Yes I’m here, I’m a stalker aren’t I? I follow you around wherever you go, I watch you sleep, I know it all, Clive … But I want to help you. I care about you, I love you, I want what’s best for you, and I’m telling you right now, Dez is not your friend, you need to let him go.  _

“ … please tell me who you are?”

_ I won’t, you had a chance but you lost it, and now i’m quite comfortable with you not knowing. If you don’t believe my words then you may ask him yourself, but either way, Luke and his parents are waiting outside, You’ve been in here for several minutes, and I think it’s time you continue your date. I will not be texting you for the rest of the day, and before you ask, no, I don’t watch those intimate acts between you two. That kind of thing makes me sick, which is why you and I would never work out … sorry, that was a weird thing to say out of nowhere, but it’s true! _

Clive sighed …

“Thanks man, Even if I won’t date you, You should stop hiding, we could be friends … I need more friends like you and Luke, I don’t think I have any that don’t want to use me for something …”

_ Those people aren’t your friends, That boy and I are your friends,  _

“How could you two be nicer to me than anyone i’ve ever met? And I’ve only known you both for a few months but the whole time you’ve never done anything … ”

_ Don’t start crying, I’m not responding, it’s going to be okay, you’re going to be okay. Bye. _

…  __

Clive stared down at the screen … he … he believed it. He was upset because it sounded right, and he didn’t know what to do about it.

“Clivveeeeee are you taking a dump?” 

Clive. .. stared down at the sink, “No- Lukey- you weirdo-” he said, opening the door. The person on the phone hadn’t been lying, all three of them were waiting outside for him. Luke looked up at Clive, and immediately knew something was wrong. He took Clive’s hand as his parents started to walk off, “We were worried about you!” Luke huffed, and Clive nervously smiled, “Ah- sorry,” He said, looking at the red waggon full of stuff they’d won. Luke was really talented, he’d gotten most of this stuff himself, at this rate he was gonna win, but Clive didn’t really mind …

“You know, I don’t wanna go back to school-” Clive said, and Luke looked up at him, “hm? Why not?” 

“I’m just having a lot of fun hanging out with you, and it’s not like i need a good job or anything just to make even more money, nothing would change if I dropped out …” He said, and Luke shook his head, “Then who would be there with me? And it’s important that you finish school …”

“... I guess you’re right-” Clive said, “... god, you’re really gonna win this-” He mumbled, and Luke grinned, “ Heck yeah I am! Be prepared to wash my feet!”

“...”

“Clive don’t be gross-” 

“I’m not! I think you already won though, there aren’t really any more games left to play.” 

“ … YES! As the first order of business, I command you to go ride that roller coaster with me!” Luke said, pointing to the massive death trap in the corner of the park. “ … hm- let’s go for round two on the games actually-” 

“Chicken! I won! You said it yourself!” Luke said, and Clive sighed … “Fine- it’s not like anything bad can happen-” He said, and Luke grinned, holding his hand as he walked. “Yeah, it’s not like it’ll malfunction or something and it’ll break down and we’ll both die-” 

“Luke that’s not funny! That’s- really not funny!” 

“I didn’t know you were so afraid of roller coasters-” 

“I’m not … i’m afraid of heights …” Clive said, and Luke looked at him … “ chicken-” 

“You’re so mean- aren’t you afraid of the dark?”

“No, I'm not!” Luke said, squeezing Clive’s hand, “ I’m afraid of you hiding in the dark you weirdo-” 

“Well that still makes you afraid of the dark … in fact- I remember you telling me you didn’t wanna take baths alone because you’re scared- and that you’re scared to open your closet, so who’s the real chicken here?” 

“I order you to stop talking!” 

“Hmf” Clive flicked Luke’s forehead, and they continued to walk … 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Luke didn’t realize how they ended up riding the gosh darn ferris wheel, but … he was sort of happy they didn’t go on that ride. He was just trying to scare Clive, he didn’t think Clive would actually agree to get on it. So now he was getting into one of the little boxes, being picked up and placed inside like precious cargo as Clive let the door shut behind him. He sat down, and Luke sat in front of him, staring Clive in the face … 

“Um?”

“Well? We go home after this-” Luke said, gently kicking Clive in the leg. “... and?” 

“So- now would be a good time for you to finally say it-”

“Say what?”

“ …” Luke looked down, continuing to kick Clive in the leg, hoping he’d get it. He waited for a long time … before he looked up, seeing Clive’s confused face. He sighed, “I’m not gonna tell you- I wanna hear you say it on your own- i’ve been waiting this whole time and you still haven’t said it, not for real …” Luke said. 

“It’s just three words- you should know what it is ... “ He said, blushing a little. Clive just stared at him … “I’m not good at riddles, that’s your thing-” Clive said, so Luke kicked him again, “Come on~! You know this! It’s not hard … it’s what I feel when I look at you … it’s the reason I brought you here, Because I …” 

“ … you?”

“Are you messing with me?”

“I’m not! You’re being confusing all of a sudden-”

“I’m not being confusing!”

“Yes you are!” 

“Ugh- you’re just stupid-” Luke said … and Clive … hummed. He leaned against the door … and started to think. “Luke why are we even together, we’re always fighting, don’t you get tired of it?” Clive said, and Luke looked at him, “what? Why are you trying to break up with me all of a sudden?”

“No! No- but it’s just, I mean … I don’t know-” Clive said. “I’m trying not to talk about myself all the time, i feel selfish, I feel like i’m just wasting your time and I never get to know you because you’re always dealing with me and my problems …” he sighed, “and now i’m sitting here making it worse because I have no idea what the hell you want me to say, I love you but I just- this is useless isn’t it?” 

Luke stared at Clive … and smiled. “No- it’s not …” He said, a wide grin on his face. 

“Hm?”

“I said it’s not-” Luke got up, sitting next to Clive, “I love being with you, You’re so easy to read, I take it back, you’re not dumb at all-” 

“ … h-huh?”

“I love you too! I love you a lot- That’s all I wanted you to say, and you did it without realizing-” Luke said … Clive blushed, “Oh- ugh- I hate you so much-” He said, being pushed over by Luke. “You’re not annoying or a waste of time! What’s wrong with you? Ever since you came out of the bathroom you’ve been acting weird … you can tell me, you know, I don’t mind the fact that you have problems, I want to help, okay?” 

“ … I ... “ Clive sighed, “ …” He couldn’t say it, he was scared- of what? Who could say, but he was terrified. 

“I promise it’s okay-” Luke said, and Clive shook his head. “I got raped-” He said looking away. “That day I was sitting in the shower, it’s because I felt … bad- I just-” 

“ … what?” Luke said, “You didn’t tell me something like that?! Are you okay? Who did it?!” Luke anxiously asked, and Clive shook his head. “I hate thinking about it, every time I have to remember I feel sick- and then I think about the fact that I turned around and did it to you and I just- I don’t deserve you- you’re so nice to me and i’m such a fucking- I don’t get it!” Clive said. 

“I just- don’t get it- but today that number started texting me and it started saying that it happened because of Dez-” 

“The stalker said that?” 

“Yes!” Clive was starting to feel like he couldn’t breathe, “it started saying that Dez has been using me, letting people touch me for money- he’s been selling me off and the worst part about it is that i’m really starting to believe that, I believe it - because Dez told me to go hang out with Alfendi that day and he knew- he fucking knew the guy was an asshole and he didn’t show up and he’s never late! He knew it was gonna happen- he fucking set me up Luke- He was my only friend and this whole time he’s just been- god- and i’ve told him everything- I feel like an idiot- I feel …” 

Clive put a hand over his mouth, and Luke gently rubbed his arm. “Don’t throw up! I promise it’s going to be okay, You don’t need him anyways! You have me, and I'll never ever ever in forever do something that mean! I promise- so try to calm down-” 

Clive shook his head, looking down at everything … he was so high up, he felt like he was going to die any second now. Luke was hugging him tight though … and eventually those words of encouragement began to ease his nerves. He was able to calm himself, but by then he was sweating, and his heart was beating out of control. It had just run a marathon around the world, Clive felt like it would give out any second now. 

“I’m sorry for getting mad at you earlier- I know friends are important to you since you don’t have many, but please don’t forget that you’ll always have me ... “ 

“Luke- I fucking molested you while you were sleeping, get off me-” 

“I don’t care- you’re my boyfriend, i’m all yours- but I don’t want you keeping things from me anymore …” 

“Oh, you mean things like the fact that I jerked off with a pair of your briefs way before we were dating? Shit like the fact that i’ve had looooong conversations with other people about what I wanted to do with you, the fact that even to this day I still can't keep my hands off you while you sleep, the fact that i’m always hitting you, the fact that I was only ever nice in the beginning because I knew that if you owed me something I could use that to make you have sex with me, the fact that i’m  _ attracted to your mom, _ stuff like that, right? Or do you wanna see some evidence? Like all the pictures of you I have on my phone- the binder that I stole- that I fucking smell every single day- or would you rather hear me say that even right now i’m just thinking about tonight ... “ Clive said. 

“I’m disgusting- I have no idea why you just- refuse to see it but I’m tired of lying like I’m not just as bad as he is-” Clive said … 

Luke just stared … “well … um- you know that pen that you had, that went missing?” 

“What does that have to do with this?” 

“I have it … I use it-” Luke said, and Clive sighed, “So? It’s a pen-” 

“No- i mean- i use it- on myself- I- ... I might not be as bad as you are but i’m not as good as you think i am, it’s so embarrassing- and I think about you a lot too- and when you fall asleep I do the same thing- a-and when your hair falls off on your pillow I- I play with it sometimes- and I keep it until a new one falls off- and sometimes when you’re asleep i just- t-take your hand and put it on my-” 

Clive stared blankly at the seat as Luke went on and on … He didn’t know whether or not he wanted to listen to this, but he was happy Luke was telling him. 

At least he wasn’t the only one. 

Clive put his arm around Luke, who was covering his face in embarrassment, “ We’re such perverts- let’s just- forget this happened …” Clive said, and Luke shook his head, “I want you to feel okay doing that stuff! I’m okay with it …” He said, and Clive sighed, “I’m okay with it too …  _ but it’s so fucking embarassing- _ ”

“I know … sometimes i feel like i can still feel your mouth on me- when we get home let’s take a bath together- you won’t have to feel dirty anymore, or we can be dirty together-” Luke said, his voice cracking. Both of them looked like tomatoes, holding onto each other as they agreed …

When the ride came to a stop, and they both stepped off, Luke got back up onto Clive’s shoulders, running his hands through his hair. He felt closer to him, somehow. Maybe they both just needed some time to be completely alone with nothing else in their way. It certainly felt like the air had been cleared now that they both got all of … that- off their chests. 

God- who were they kidding? This was going to make things awkward for the next couple days at least … but it still felt better. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Luke laid in bed after a long, hot bath. He felt relaxed, pretending to be asleep as Clive kissed his stomach, It tickled, but he tried not to smile, or move, just be still. He wanted to know what exactly Clive did while he was asleep, so he’d tried to stay up, only to eventually feel hands running all over his body. 

The kisses got lower, and Luke bit his lip, knees weakened by the sensation of a wet tongue sliding around over the fabric of his briefs, which were already slightly damp. He bit his hand as he was liked, Clive had disappeared under the blanket, the only evidence of his existence being a bump shuffling around between Luke’s legs. Luke tried to sit still, but his leg moved a little when Clive pulled down said fabric with his teeth, letting said teeth scrape across Luke’s clit as his tongue prodded at it. He sucked it, pushing his tongue down between Luke’s labia, able to lick at his opening. 

Luke shuddered a little, clenching his fists as he tried not to make any sound, but Clive was just- so good at this, and it felt so good- he felt so good- 

Clive pulled his hips forward, pushing Luke’s legs apart as he really started to get into it. It felt more like he was trying to drink every last bit of fluid Luke had down there, making audible noises as Luke gripped his hair, feeling his mouth pull at his more sensitive areas. He felt the texture of Clive’s tongue eagerly lapping at his button as a finger easily made its way inside of him. Luke squirmed a little, arching back as Clive pushed just the right spot to make all of his licking feel even more intense. 

Luke came after a few more seconds, moaning as he melted into the bed, hearing Clive laugh under his breath, feeling the hot air on his stomach as he was met with more kisses … 

“I know you’re awake …” Clive said, and Luke whimpered, pushing his face away with his foot. 

“Did it feel good?”

“Y-yes …” 

“You wanna keep going?” 

“Go to bed-” Luke mumbled, watching as Clive came up from under the blankets. “I can’t-” 

“Why not?”

“ _ You know why not … _ ”

“ …” Luke looked down … “fine- but I wanna do you this time-” He said, going down underneath the blanket. Clive let him, wondering what he was going to do before he felt Luke’s face brushing across his boner. He stared blankly at the pillow, feeling little fingers poking at the happy trail running up and down underneath his belly button. “Luke- that- tickles …” Clive mumbled, biting his lip as Luke pulled his dick out … 

And then they both just sat there … 

Clive sighed as Luke tried taking it into his mouth, before he was pushed over, and Luke sat up. “Lay on your back …” He said, pushing the blankets out of the way. Clive did just that, watching as Luke attempted to give him a blowjob again. He could tell that Luke was sort of scared, so he made an effort not to stare too hard … but he really wanted to look, especially when Luke started going down, and he went further than Clive thought he would. 

The tongue sliding across his tip was ameteure but- it was Luke’s tongue, so Clive was barely able to hold it in, moaning as Luke’s drool ran down the side of his length, sparkling in whatever moonlight romantically shone through the window. 

“Luke- fuck- oh my god …” Clive groaned, and Luke looked up, seeing him with his hands glued to his face … he was so cute when he was embarrassed. 

Luke continued to do his best, not using his teeth like the tutorial he read said, He stroked Clive, breathing through his nose, hearing him breathe out his name and grow restless, uncontrollably fidgeting in bed. He bucked his hips up, quietly gasping as Luke was able to take him down further. He went deeper, trying to get all the way down, before Clive suddenly came without telling him. 

It would have been fine, had Luke been used to the taste and texture, but he wasn’t. Not only that, but he was caught off guard by it, so his immediate response was …

“BLEGH-” 

“L-Luke!” 

“I’m so sorry!” 

And then he started to cry, staring down at the vomit on Clive’s body. He didn’t seem that bothered by it, but Luke was completely embarrassed. “It- Kinda burns but it’s okay-” Clive said, gently rubbing Luke’s head as he got up. “I’m gonna go hop in the shower, hurry and take the sheets off the bed-” Clive said, pulling his underwear off … 

“Clive-” 

“Yea?” 

“You- have- freckles on your butt?” 

“ … yeah?” 

“ … I didn’t notice-” Luke said, wiping his mouth on the sheets as he got up, pulling them off. Clive huffed, “well forget it-” He said, disappearing into the bathroom. 

Luke watched him go … 

He knew they were there, he just wanted to point it out ...


	27. Speculation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hhn

Clive could barely see right now, he was being ushered down a hallway, still in his night clothes, which was just boxers and a hoodie with a cum stain on it. Luke was pulling him by his arm, and Brenda was pulling him by his other arm as Clark trailed behind them. It was ass crack in the morning, and he hadn’t slept much last night due to him being unable to get the sensation of Luke Puking on him out of his head. 

They had gone home, and Clive thought they were done with vacation stuff, but - no- today apparently was the day he’d become … part of the family? Whatever that meant. He was ushered down the hall, trying to open his eyes, but- he was just too tired. The place was nice from what he could see though, brown carpet with a floral pattern on it, lamps of fire hanging off of the walls, picture frames and other things … There was one specific picture that Clive saw, which made him feel strange, but he was pulled past it before he could see it again. 

“It’ll be really easy! All you have to do is everything he says and then later I think we’re gonna go out to eat?” Luke said, meanwhile Clive was still trying to open his eyes. 

“A little word of advice,” Clark said, “Things might get rough, but remember, they do this to us because they want strong connections, not just someone who’s going to give up on them. Our family isn’t just blood, Clive, It’s everything, it’s all we have.” Clark said. 

“Wh-what?” Clive said, finally waking up. “You did what?” 

“It’s just a test, anyone coming from outside the family has to do it, tradition and whatnot.” 

“Wh- Luke didn’t tell me about-”

Clive wheezed as he was pushed into a room that smelled like old people, and purposely tripped by whoever was at the door. 

“Bye I love you please be careful and don’t forget you’re doing this for me and i love you and-!” The door shut in the middle of Luke’s ramblings, being locked into place by whoever was standing beside it ..

“Clive?” Came a familiar voice, picking him up by his hood. Clive … was asleep. Halfway asleep, he didn’t reply for a moment, being stood up on his feet before he finally processed who was talking to him. He turned his head about four inches, staring like he’d seen a ghost. 

Desmond was standing there, giving him a look, it was tense for a moment. He was dressed like … “professor sycamore” His persona, A black suit with a white flower on the chest. His glasses were gone, but Clive could tell he was wearing contacts … 

Dez suddenly put his arms around Clive, squealing into his chest, unable to believe he was seeing him here. He picked him up, hugging him, all the while Clive just … existed. The look on his face was dull, but he still liked being held by Dez, so he let him continue as he scanned the room, seeing an old man in a really big top hat sitting at a desk in the middle of the room. The place was lined with bookshelves and board games, and there was a couch in front of the desk, as if this was some sort of therapy office. 

“ I can’t believe we’re gonna be brothers!” Dez happily said, and Clive … squinted off into the distance. 

“I didn’t even know Luke was in my family until now! And now you’re here! You finally get to have a family! A real one! Aren’t you … excited?” Dez asked … Clive was asleep, hanging off of his shoulder … 

“U-uh- so- Professor-” Dez said, putting Clive down in the chair in front of him. “I actually know him, we go to school together-” 

“That’s good, saves us some time, so what do you know?” The professor said. Dez looked at Clive … before snapping in front of his face. “Well, He seems cranky, but really it’s just because he’s tired. He can’t usually get to sleep without someone holding onto him, sort of like a baby-” Dez shook Clive, he really wasn’t getting up. “Um, he can only get to proper sleep when he’s with Luke, and that’s what led them to be together, because Luke can’t sleep at all without Clive holding onto him.” Dez said. He slapped Clive, who jolted awake, staring off into space. He looked like he was having war flashbacks before he calmed down ...

“D-don’t- slap me-” He said, rubbing his face, still incredibly tired. 

“And he’s a huge pervert who refuses to hit women, not because it’s immoral, but because even a single touch is enough to break him.” 

“ … wh- no i don’t! Well- sort of- what are you talking about?” Clive asked, looking in front of him …

The old man in the top hat smiled, “My name is Hershel, Hershel Layton, You may call me professor-” 

“Alright old man-” 

“You … D- Excuse me?” 

“I said alright old man- enough of the theatrics, who are you, why is Dez here? What is this cult initiation stuff and when can it be over because i’m tired and hungry and I already miss Luke-” Clive said. Layton just stared at him … “You’re honest, I like that, but disrespectful, that needs to change. Your friend, Dez, he is my little brother, he helps me with these sorts of things, as I’m indeed an old man. I am an old friend of the family, and this initiation is a long family tradition, and by the end of today, you will either be single, or your last name will be Triton.” Hershel said. 

Clive sat back … “ you people are nuts but it sounds like fun, so what am I doing? Running through an obstacle course?” he asked, and Layton grinned, taking something out of his drawer. “No, not exactly-” Dez said, “Okay, try to think, what kinds of stuff might happen when you two are together long term?”

“ … um- i don’t know- we’d fuck a lot?” 

“B-besides that, what sorts of altercations might you get into? I know fighting is no issue for you, but there will be plenty of other stressful things, like other people trying to separate you two- or issues with money- issues with housing- issues with your relationship- you have to be prepared to deal with the worst- but you hope for the best-” 

“ … so what-?” 

Dez sighed, “So- My point is, being with someone takes a lot of time, energy, and most of all, patience and understanding, all things that you lack. You aren’t very mature, you’re rich but you don’t know what to do with your money so you give it away to whoever asks, you’re not very responsible, not very patient, not very bright, but most of all … You’re prone to giving up, or stopping something when you’re not interested or it’s not working out.” 

“... i’m not stupid but go on-” 

“You need to learn persistence, I know this isn’t a regular thing that would happen in most families, but it’s the way this one operates … So today! All you have to do is play a little game with us- without quitting- without giving up- you have to get creative, and show us that you’re not as dim as you seem-!” Dez said. “ and then after that we’re going out to eat or something, i forgot-” 

“ … fine- so what am I doing?” Clive asked, flinching as a gun was set down in front of him …

“Paintball?” He asked, picking it up. It was long, an automatic, it looked … real. “Yes, but not just paintball-” Desmond said, grinning, “ _ If you lose, you and Luke will have to break up- _ ” 

“ … well, how would I lose?” 

“Oh you lose if you pass out, get incapacitated or you give up- Luke will only help you once, he’s supposed to rely on you, so you shouldn’t rely on him-”

Clive huffed, “why not? He’s there for me all the time-” 

“Because, Clive, That’s called dependency, and while your situation is unique, You should at least make sure you’re able to do as much for him as he does for you, what do you even do for him?” Dez asked.

“ …” Clive sighed, and Layton chuckled, “well, after this I’m sure you’ll be better prepared to answer that question-” He said. 

“So how do I win? Do I have to kill you?” Clive asked. And Hershel hummed, “ No, tell me, when they brought you here, did you see where this place was?” 

“No- I was too tired …” 

“This place is in the middle of a forest, I like it out here, it’s calm, the view is nice, but around this time it’s especially cold. Luke is somewhere here, Your job is to meet up with him. We won’t tell you where he is, or give you any hints other than this: the closer you get, the darker it’ll be.” Layton said. “Oh, and if you return covered in paint, you fail-” He said. 

“Wha? Why?” 

Dez chuckled, “who’s the one who’ll have to clean that up?” 

“Oh … ugh- this seems pointless-” 

“Don’t worry, the only way you’ll actually fail is if you give up, nothing else really matters, just whatever you do, don’t give up.” 

“Yes, well, We’ll give you a head start- Anything is allowed, And your time starts … “ Hershel looked up at Clive … Who took the gun and bolted out the door suddenly. He shut it, and the professor grinned as he heard the sound of objects being slid in front of it. 

“He thought to lock us in here … what do you think?” Layton asked, and Dez shrugged, “I think he forgot to ask for ammunition, ah well, He’ll just have to win without shooting back-” He said, and like that, the games began. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Clive wheezed, hiding behind a large rock. He thought about the hint very carefully, the closer he got, the darker it’d get. He didn’t know what it meant at first, but then he started thinking … and he figured- they must mean literally. It must take a long time to get to where he’s going, it must be far away, hence, the closer he got to it, the darker it would become. The sun would set. 

Clive had scanned the area, and he noticed that there was a fence off in the distance in one direction, but nothing in the other, so- in theory, he should go the other way, as it leads further away … right? He was doubting himself, and it hurt his head to even come up with that. 

His feet were slightly cut from him tripping over rocks, and stepping on sharp objects. He was still hungry, cold, tired, missing Luke … he stared down at his legs … this wasn’t fun at all. 

He flinched as something came at him from the bushes, “Hiiiii!!” Luke yelled, tackling Clive to the ground. Clive hit the rocks with a thud, nearly having a heart attack from seeing his little boy wife come at him like that.

“l-Luke?! Why are you here?!” 

“I wanted to help you cheat on the test! Just like in school-!” 

“ …” Clive smiled, “hell yeah, that’s what i’m talking about!” He said, “God- it’s only been like an hour but it felt like hell without you- and I’m cold as shit! You’re so warm-” Clive mumbled, hugging Luke. 

Luke just giggled, dressed in all black. Black sweater, black shorts with black stockings and fuzzy Black boots. “ I brought you bullets- and food!” Luke said, taking his little backpack off of his back. He handed some to Clive, who loaded them into the gun, just now realizing he had none. He grinned, “We’re such cheaters- but if it means I get to win then I don’t care-” Clive said. 

“About that, you know, you’ve been going the wrong way! You’re supposed to follow the dirt, it gets darker when-” 

“ _ Oh my god are you serious?” _

“Yeah- a lot of people miss it, but i wanna be with you so i’m not gonna let that happen!” Luke said. 

Clive stood, “well, let's hurry i guess-” he said, and Luke nodded, before he was suddenly shot in the side with a paintball. 

“Nooooo!!!” Luke groaned, falling over on the dirt. Clive gasped, “ Luke!” He yelled, only getting a fake cough in response. “They got me- s-save yourself- for us!” Luke said. 

Clive attempted to pick him up, but he was shot in the face. 

“No help! Luke you know that’s not allowed!” Dez yelled, and Luke huffed, “You guys are lame!” He yelled, back, shoving his bag at Clive, “Run! My love! Go!” He dramatically said. 

Clive just- he bolted, screaming out words of getting revenge, avenging Luke’s death, crying actual tears as he was shot in the back … Luke just watched him go, a big dumb smile on his face before he was picked up by Layton. 

“Luke …” 

“I know! I know- But I really like him- and everyone else always gives up and I really want us to be together so I just-” Luke whined, giving pleading eyes to the professor … who sighed. The wind blew by, and all three of them shuddered. 

“I’m going after him-” Dez said, and Hershel nodded, letting Dez go. 

He sat Luke down on top of the rock, “ well, I suppose it’s not against the rules, but what if he loses even with your help?” 

“Well then i’ll date him anyways and we’ll run away together! We’re a team, Professa’ and nobody’s gonna stop me from doing whatever I can to make sure he wins!” 

“ … I suppose that means you’re the opposition now-” Layton said, and Luke huffed, “i suppose it does ...” He said, and Hershel … took a step back.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Clive stared down at the ground, watching the dirt go from light gray, to dark gray, to brown, to dark brown … it was getting darker, in the sky and on the ground, but now Clive was sort of … lost? He had no idea where he was, so he just continued to walk at whatever pace he felt was necessary. He couldn’t stop thinking about the way Luke pretended to die, he was so cute, he took it so seriously at first, but now he was alone, and bored, so he was just- thinking about him. 

The little sick cough he gave, Clive grinned, wondering if Luke would ever wanna roleplay with him. He sighed … and then he was shot in the ass, pulled from his fantasy. He winced, and looked around, hiding behind a tree as footsteps slowly grew in his ears. 

“Cliiiveee~” Dez said, “Come out~” He whispered, looking around. 

Clive stood there for a second, before he remembered what he’d been told. All the details about Dez doing what he did for money, and everything in between. He thought about Alfendi, he thought about Henry, and Luke, and what had happened … 

“W-Wait! Time out! I have- questions!” Clive said. He wanted to talk about it, but the second he was spotted, he had to jump a little to keep his feet from being pelted with bullets. He looked down, and hissed, before he shot back. 

His pellets were white, apparently, splashing paint on Dez’s suit in a bloody display. Clive stood there … they weren’t that far apart, and it was quiet.

“ _ Are you crazy? This is the most expensive piece of clothing that I own!” _ Dez yelled, starting to reload. Clive looked, before he bolted, almost getting shot in the leg. Dez chased after him, and Clive really really wished he hadn’t been smoking. 

“I’m gonna kill you! Stop running!” Dez yelled, Sliding underneath trees. Clive tried not to watch him, just going as fast as his legs would take him. Dez had probably been in these woods for a while, and he’d been doing this for forever

“It’s just a SUIT! I thought this was just a game!” Clive yelled, before he was tackled to the ground. He rolled over, dropping his gun before one was pressed up against his head. 

“Say your prayers!” 

“Never!” Clive yelled, hitting the weapon out of Dez’s hand. That didn’t stop Dez from immediately putting his hands to his neck, and that didn’t stop Clive from kicking his leg up, flipping them both over. 

The two rolled around in the dirt for a second, before Clive managed to pin Dez down. He panted, covered in mud, had it been raining? No- it’d been snowing, fuck. Dez grinned, and Clive … sighed. 

“I thought you stopped working out. Did you start agai-?” 

“Dez, I’m gonna ask you a question, and I’m gonna need you to not lie to me about it …” 

“H-Huh?” Dez asked. Clive was quiet for a second … 

“How do you get your tuition money?” Clive asked, and Dez was quiet … “you pay, remember? You paid for me to get in, because we’re … friends, you know? You wanted to go to the same school- the same private school, pretty girls, all that, right?” 

“ …” Clive looked down, “i- no?” 

“Yes-” 

“No! Tell me the truth! I haven’t given you anything since we started school, and I’m just now hearing about some bullshit, that you’ve been- selling me off- Did Alfendi pay you to get me to go with him? I’m just-” 

“Clive- are you alright?” 

“No! I’m not fucking alright! Why are you with Henry? None of this makes sense! I didn’t think I’d have to confront you so soon but fuck it! It’s one less thing that’ll be on my mind so just tell me the truth …”

“ … get off me-” Dez said, sitting up. Clive moved away from him, picking up his gun from his side. 

“ … How do you know?” Dez asked, and Clive glared at him, “It’s true?!” 

“Tell me who told you and i'll tell you the truth …” 

“I- there’s been this number texting me- all this weird stuff, and it’s been telling me things about the people around me. It tells me what to do, Sort of like you and Luke, and they claim they love me the same way … they’ve never said anything bad, they don’t call me dumb or belittle me- they just seem like they wanna help, so I listened, and they told me that you were … people were paying you to- you were- pimping me …” Clive said … 

“And you believe it?” 

“Yes …” 

Dez sighed, “You ARE dumb, that’s a rumor that’s been floating around for like, ever! You really think I'd do something that sick to you? And no, it’s not you i’ve been whoring … it’s me-” Dez said. “I’ve been selling myself- Clive- It was just … easier, when it was orgies. Big groups of people who wanted to be near you. All those rich girls at school looking for a good time, how could I say no? They offered to pay me, whether you came with me or not, but I figured it’d be better if you were there- and … yeah, they did pay more if you were there.” Dez said. 

“But - no- what happened with Alfendi, I had no idea! I swear I didn’t know, I just thought he had some weird crush on you, I didn’t know he was going to do that, I thought you two would have been a cute couple and that’s why I told you to go. He didn’t give me any money, i’d never do that to you- You’re like my brother- seriously Clive, I mean, how could you even think that?” 

“ … you’ve been weird lately-” Clive mumbled, and Dez shook his head. “I’ve been … trying to distance myself from you … You don’t need me anymore- but I still need you- so I’ve just been trying to find someone else-” Desmond said, staring down at the ground. 

“ … but- why him?”

“You said it yourself, he’s good … he might be a bit of a wet towel, but he can take a lot, and he doesn’t mind being seen with me, he doesn’t mind me touching him, and we’re already roommates so it works out- i-i’m sorry i was being quiet- I didn’t mean it like that I was just … We’re not gonna be together forever, even if we are best friends. The first half of the year is over, Clive, and we don’t have much time left before we have to start saying goodbye … when that hit me, I knew i was gonna be fucked if I didn’t have anyone else but you to rely on, and honestly, There isn’t anyone else Like you- so I still don’t know what the fuck i’m gonna do because Henry isn’t enough-” 

“ …” Clive sighed, “i’m sorry …” He said. Dez shook his head, “ I should have been more upfront about what was going on, I just … but- anyways, so- the person who was texting you, Luke told me a little about it … and- I think it’s Luke doing it-” Dez said. 

“ … w-what?” 

“Think about it- Luke is the only one who’s always around you, he’s the only one who would know all of that stuff- He wants to be with you, and … you didn’t hear it from me but He gets really determined about things that he likes, I think it’s him- I think he’s trying to get in your head-” 

“It can’t be, I've gotten texts while Luke was just sitting there in front of me, there’s no way it’s him. And he didn’t even know about it until I told him-” Clive said. Dez hummed … “ we’ll talk about it later, I guess Luke doesn’t have the technical skill to do a thing like that anyways.” 

“Yeah, not only that but he’s too busy cooking and cleaning and stuff, and when he’s not doing that we’re usually doing something together like watching a movie or playing games so he doesn’t have the time, and he wouldn’t need to do that since I already love him-” Clive said. Dez shook his head, “he wants you to himself, It doesn’t matter if you love him, maybe he wants to get rid of me?” 

“ … well, I won’t let that happen-” Clive said. Dez hummed … “I’m just gonna let you go, but in the spirit of Christmas or whatever, I’m gonna give you something-  _ don’t fucking tell anyone or I’ll have to cut your balls off- _ ” 

“... i- you don’t have anything-” 

“Yes I do-” Dez said, and in the span of a second Clive ended up on the ground, a mouth moving against his own, seemingly stealing the life from him in the form of a very passionate kiss. 

Clive gasped as Dez pulled away, and he laid there on the ground, face completely red … 

“I- have- a boyfriend!” Clive said, “noo! Luke is gonna kill me!” he yelled, and Dez grinned, kissing his forehead, “He won’t know, it’ll be a secret, now run away before I kill you for real-” Dez said, but Clive didn’t move … 

“Dang, why’d you have to go and do it now after I just got over it Ugh now I’m feeling all this shit- i hate you-” 

“Well you gotta get over your crush on me eventually-” 

“Shut up!” Clive yelled, shooting Dez in the face. “ You can’t say that after you just- ugh- and for the record I’d be on top!” 

“No you wouldn’t-” 

“Yes I would!” Clive hissed, before he stopped, watching Dez pick his gun up. “Ah- alright- bye-” He said, leaving as fast as he came.

He didn’t stay to see Luke slowly walking up behind Dez, a rope in his hands as he moved quietly, carefully, swiftly slipping it around Dez’s neck before he pulled. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


It was entirely too dark for Clive to see a thing, and … honestly he was a little scared being out here. He kept hearing weird noises, and seeing shadows. His mind was starting to play tricks on him, and he was pretty sure he was starting to pass out from how cold he was. He sighed, and stopped. This was the perfect time to take a break. He sat down, leaning against a tree. He had no idea where he was, and he was hungry, so he took off the backpack, wondering if Luke had packed him anything to eat. 

He uncovered a sandwich, and a juice box, and he thanked the stars that Luke was as kind as he was. 

He ate it so quickly that he honestly didn’t remember having it in his hands. Was this what it was like to be hungry? It wasn’t really something he’d ever had to feel. He sat there for a second, thinking about Luke again … it was all he could seem to think of whenever he was alone. Luke was always the first thing to come to mind, was he obsessed or something? 

Was that a good thing?

He sat there, wondering what happened to the other guys who tried this, and … how far they got with Luke. Probably not very, he was so inexperienced … he wondered who they were though. Clive sighed, and stood up, dusting himself off. He stared down at the ground. The dirt was completely black, and it smelled weird, it smelled sweet, and it was spongy, a little hard to walk on too. Felt like he was stepping in pudding or something, he hoped it wasn’t poop…

He continued his walk, carrying the bag on his back as he drank from the juice box. He could see some sort of light off in the distance, so he began walking towards it. 

The stars in the sky were flashing at him, and he read it as Morse code, one of the few things he knew how to do. 

At first it was just random letters, A, E, J, K, H, G S, O, etc. then, somehow it actually spelled a word … 

“FIRE”

He hummed … ominous, but there was no way the stars were talking to him, and there was no way a fire was going to randomly break out in the middle of the forest in the middle of the night. Clive stared down at the light in the distance … he was getting closer, and the closer he got, the more it felt like - Luke was there. He couldn’t really see, he didn’t have his glasses, and his braces were aching- 

Stupid gold tooth, it felt heavy, his whole face felt heavy, he just wanted to lay it on Luke’s chest and go to sleep. 

He tripped, being caught up inside of something. He screamed, being genuinely caught off guard by it. He flailed, dangling by his leg, unable to see anything before a torch was lit right in front of him, and he was met with Clark, giving him a weird look …

“H-hey-” Clive said, freezing cold. Clark shook his head, “You aren’t dead?” He said, and Clive stared him in the eyes …

“What?” 

“You - uh- well you’ve been out here for hours, a-and we’ve been looking all over for you- You were going the wrong way, do you have any idea what the temperature is? You should be dead-” 

“ … what’s with the torch? Why don’t you have a flashlight?” 

“ … well, I can’t exactly keep you warm with a flashlight, It was all I could think of, I left the house in a panic, I didn’t even bring a jacket for myself-” Clark said. Clive stared at him …

He didn’t trust it, something felt wrong. 

“And you’re out here alone?” Clive asked, swinging his body up to his tied leg. He gripped the tree branch, and Climbed up onto it, giving himself somewhere to sit while he untied himself. Clark seemed surprised that he could do that, like he wasn’t expecting it. Clive dropped down, looking down at the dirt … 

“No, this is the right way, it’s this way-” He said, following Luke’s directions. Clark just watched him as he walked, before slowly following behind him. “Clive, everyone is waiting for you the other way, you should come back-” 

“Yeah right, you’re trying to trick me or something, I’m not stupid. Luke is this way, he told me to go this way so this is the way that i’m going-” Clive said, hearing the crackling of fire behind him. 

“ … I see.” Clark said, and Clive turned, spotting the familiar axe in his hand. 

“You should have given up, nobody is going to be with Kelly, I won’t allow her to have any boyfriends, especially not one as perverse as you-” 

“ …” Clive stopped … He stared Clark in the face, wanting to know if he was seriously saying what he sounded like he was saying… 

“So you’re gonna kill me or something?” Clive said, and Clark shook his head, “No, I’m just here to tell you that you’re going the wrong way, and that you’ll die out here if you don’t go back.” 

“So you’re going to kill me-” 

“No, that’s not what I’m saying-” 

“Dude- It’s this way- I’m cold as shit, you’re freaking me out with that caveman ass torch, talking about me dying, If you’re gonna kill me then don’t be weird about it just say it-”

“Clive- I’m just saying you’re going the wrong way-” 

“Well I guess I’m going to die out here because I trust Luke and I’m going this way-” Clive said, “And you’re being weird- I don’t want your help so go away-” He said. He shoved the empty juice box back into his bag, before hearing Clark chuckle. “What’s with the attitude?” 

Clive sighed, and ignored him … the light from the torch was nice though, until it was dropped, and Clark let out a scream, audibly falling over. Clive turned around, but it was pitch black again … and there was nothing around him. 

“ … D-Dad?” Clive asked, looking around, “ Alright! I know we’re mean to each other over Luke and it’s just what we do but this is a little uncalled for!” He said … 

“Old man?!” he yelled, walking around, trying to feel for Clark … but even as he squinted through the darkness of the night, Clark was nowhere to be seen. Clive stopped … 

He continued to walk, but he felt like he was being watched. It wasn’t Clark watching him though, it was something else, and he knew that for sure. For some reason, he wasn’t scared anymore, he felt a little protected, like there was nothing to worry about now. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Clive sighed, finally getting to the stupid fucking door at the stupid house. As soon as he walked up to it, he was greeted with a big head slamming into his body, screaming that he made it. Brenda walked outside, Seeing Clive on the ground, still in his underwear, seemingly pissed, and covered in dirt … 

“You aren’t dead?” She asked, and Clive tensed, “I- were you trying to kill me??”

“No, no, it’s just- we were worried, it’s very cold and you were out there for a while. We like to assume the worst and hope for the best, and with you being … slightly nude, it was very possible that you’d died-” She said, “But i’m very happy to see you!” She said, seemingly cowering behind the door. 

Clive just stared at her … 

Fire- 

Clark peered out, “Oh, he made it back?” He asked, and Clive nearly screamed, “YOU- YOU WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?!”

“Huh?”

“YOU SCREAMED AND DISAPPEARED-”

“ … i-i’ve been in here the whole time, Clive-” 

“Yes, he’s been with us-” Brenda said. “Are you sure you’re alright? We didn’t expect you to take so long, you should really come inside-” She said, and Clive shook his head. “No no no- Clark was in the woods with me, with a torch- caveman- he was talking about me dying- and he- screamed- and then he was gone-” Clive breathed, “You’re all messing with me-” 

“Oh dear, we broke him-” 

Luke looked up at Clive, kissing his cheek before whispering something into his ear. 

“ _ Don’t worry … I saw him too _ ” 

… Clive held onto Luke, and stood up … he … was terrified, but he came inside of the little cottage home, immediately feeling warmth coming from the fireplace. He walked over to the couch, and sat down with Luke in his arms, absorbing his body heat before he was given a cup of tea. This room … Looked just like Luke’s living room. 

Freaky, freaky it was all so freaky. He drank from it … 

“You did it … this was the present I was talking about-” Luke said, “Your name is now Clive Triton … but- well, I sort of like the sound of Luke Dove- which one is better?” Luke asked, but Clive was just staring …

“Clive?” 

… “sorry, i just- I’m tired, but I like Luke Dove, it sounds cool, and I think we should start our own family, because there’s no way in hell I’m keeping up with this tradition-” Clive said, and Luke smiled. “Aw, was it that bad?”

“ … where are Dez and the Professor?” 

“ …” Luke shrugged, nuzzling Clive, “probably went back to their own homes-” Luke said, “it’s cold, after all …” He said, and Clive nodded …

Why was everything so confusing? 


	28. The night before departure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's christmas day, and Luke has a very special gift for Clive.

Luke sat on the floor in the living room, surrounded by boxes. He was dressed like a little Santa, a puffy red dress, red hat and black socks that went all the way up to his thighs. It seemed like everyone just got him a bunch of presents and not much else for each other. Luke didn’t expect it, Having all of this stuff dumped on him at once felt kind of strange after going his entire life without getting much of anything. His parents were seated on the couch, seemingly existing in two different places while being right next to each other. 

“We saw you looking at a few things so we wanted to make sure we didn’t miss anything-” Clark said, and Brenda hummed … “He was watching you while you two were out shopping and he wrote down everything you looked at-” 

“B-Brenda!”

“Dad! What the heck?!" 

Clive snorted, taking the time to spike the eggnog while nobody was looking. Luke shifted around the boxes, “are all of these from you?” He asked, and Clark shook his head, “Of course not-” He said, “There's one from your …  _ boyfriend. _ Of course, and a few from mom-” 

Luke looked over at Clive, who’s just been sitting in the arm chair, not paying attention until now. He looked up, and Luke hummed, “Which one is Clive’s?” He asked, starting to push aside the boxes. Clark sighed, “I don’t know-” He said, receiving a sympathetic pat on the back from Brenda, who whispered something to him, seemingly trying to cheer him up. 

“Clive?” 

Clive shrugged, “it’s in there somewhere-” He said, tilting back the carton of milk and eggs. Luke hummed, pushing aside all the other boxes like they didn’t matter. Eventually he found a box that had “From Clive” Written on it in chicken scratch. Luke opened it … and stared down at the little neatly wrapped package of chocolate. There were also a couple of binders, one that was his skin tone, one that had little panda faces printed all over it and one that had wings in the back. They looked new, but aside from those two things … 

Luke shut the box, face turning a little red as he just sat there. On one hand he was happy that Clive actually thought about something he’d want, but on the other hand … He’d never seen a vibrator in real life and he never imagined he’d get one for christmas while sitting right in front of his parents. “ … t-thank you-”

“Hm-” Clive said, and Luke sighed, starting to open up a couple of the other boxes. “Dad you got way too much stuff- you have to save some of that money, alright?” Luke said, and Clark grinned. “ Did I forget to tell you? We hit the lottery again-” He said, and Luke looked up … 

“H-Huh?! How?” 

“I have no idea, I just went into a gas station, scratched a card off and won-” 

“It’s true-” Brenda said, “ _ and guess what? He still hasn’t fixed the car- _ ”

“The car is fiiine~” Clark said, getting a passive hum from the other two. 

Luke ended up trying to go through the presents as fast as possible, most of it was underwear, which he appreciated his dad’s taste in cute underwear, but he was going to throw all the bras in the trash so it was just … a waste of money. What wasn’t panties was just copious amounts of sweets, and books, and clothing. “You should still be saving your money, stupid! Did you even get mom anything?!” 

“Of course I did! But it’s none of your concern!”

Brenda sighed, “ it was a cookbook-” She said, and Luke huffed, “Dad that’s not a present! What are you trying to say?” 

“What do you mean that’s not a present?” 

Clive just listened to them argue … Luke was trying to explain why it was a little insulting, and unnecessary, considering the fact that he got her a different one every single year. At this point she was a master chef, but it  _ was  _ getting a little old. 

She turned her head, “Oh, we tried picking something for you, but we had no idea what you’d want so I thought I’d just ask-” She said, and Clive zoned out for maybe three seconds before responding … “Actually- I saw a picture of a woman when we were in Layton’s house-” 

“Hm? Oh … You want that picture?” She asked, and Clive nodded, “Or, at least to know who she is? If she is a real person and not just a painting-” He said. Brenda sighed, “I’m afraid that’s the late miss … oh, what’s her name? She was an old friend of ours, but she died during childbirth about eighteen years ago. She never did talk very much, and Her husband had run off before she could have the baby. That’s all I really know about her, other than the fact that she could outdrink just about anyone and she smoked a pack a day. Pretty lady, not very ladylike, but it was sort of charming I guess … Rather rude, to be honest.” Brenda said, and Clive hummed …

“Oh, but What about you? It’s christmas day and you haven’t called your parents once, is everything alright at home?” 

“ … There isn’t an at home- I don’t … have any parents. It’s funny that you said all of that, because my dad was actually never around, and my mom died giving birth to me too …” Clive said. 

“Oh, I’m so sorry-” 

“It’s alright … I just- I’m starting to think the lady in that picture might be her- when i looked at it I just felt- weird- Like I knew her or we were connected somehow-” 

“Oh, but that couldn’t be, her last name wasn’t dove-” 

“Dove is just the name I got when I was adopted, from Constance Dove- I don’t actually know my last name.” He said, sighing. Brenda smiled, “You know, you do look a little like her- Mia, that was her name. ” 

“ did she have a last name?” Clive asked, and Brenda shook her head, “No, sorry, I’m afraid she was Mononymous- That was just the name she chose when she came to London, I don’t know much else about it other than that, and Her english wasn’t too great so I never felt the need to ask.” 

“ …” Clive stared off into the distance … and Brenda gave him a warm smile, “ You should try getting your birth certificate, Maybe she wrote her name there?” 

“ … that’s another thing, the name on the certificate isn’t Mia- It wasn’t a name at all- When I ask about it people say she died writing something, trying to tell the doctors something or- I don’t know, but it was a sentence- she died halfway through it … and it’s completely illegible-” 

“ … I- see …” 

“But now I’m thinking, maybe it was just in a different language-” He said, before shaking his head, “I just keep wondering what she was trying to say- do you know where this other woman was from?” 

“Pakistan-” 

“ … ah- what about her husband?”

“Some random deadbeat she met one day, fell in love and never went back. He was a piece of trash, and that’s all there was to say about him, his only advantage was that he could speak Urdu, but that didn’t excuse how he was. Once she got pregnant he went on to the next girl, I bet he’s still floating around town-” She said, crossing her arms. 

“ …  _ yea that adds up.” _ Clive mumbled. He had the urge to go looking for this guy. He wasn’t going to, though, because the possibility that these people were his actual parents was slim, and he doubted his “dad” would even want to see him. 

“Well what would you have gotten her?” Clark said, and Luke huffed, “I wouldn’t have gotten her anything! I would have given her a back rub since her back is always hurting and I would have cleaned the kitchen! You’re so dense!” 

“Hmf-” 

“Don’t Hmf me!” 

Brenda put a hand on his shoulder, “it’s okay, I didn’t get you anything. Merry Christmas.” She said, and Luke huffed, “Good job mom!” 

Clark leaned back, depression written on his face before he looked at Clive, who was trying not to laugh at him out loud. 

“Something funny?” Clark asked, and Clive shook his head, “nope.” 

“Honestly, How could you let this idiot be a better gift giver than you are? The bar was already so low and you just went lower!” Luke said. 

“Who are you calling an idiot you big headed baby?” Clive asked, and Luke looked over at him, “You! You idiot-” 

“Big head-” 

“Stupid!” 

“Bobble head-” 

“My head isn’t big!” 

“It’s massive.” 

“Hmf- Fine! Then I guess you don’t want to see what I got for you-” 

“Probably something lame-” Clive mumbled, “I don’t want anything so there’s nothing you could have given me anyways.” He said, and Luke … Huffed. He ran off, going upstairs, audibly slamming a door … 

“I think you’d better go apologize-” Brenda said, looking up the stairs. 

“He started it-” 

“Don’t be childish-” She said, “ Luke is upset because of something you said, so it’s your responsibility to make him feel better …” 

“ … hm-” Clive sighed, Brenda was the only one sticking to calling Luke Luke instead of Kelly, she was so nice, so caring … what a strange household. He got up, taking the present from off the floor, and the carton of eggnog, going upstairs. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


… 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Clive opened the door, Luke’s room was actually a lot nicer than he’d thought it’d be. Filled with a bunch more stuffed animals than their dorm was. “I’m not here to apologize, I’m just here to say your head is still big but that’s what makes it cute so you should stop being mad about it.” he said. 

Apology 100. 

“My head is big because my brain is big, and yours is the size of a pea.” Luke said, slamming his drawer. “Do you want your present or not?” 

“ … are you actually mad? You know I’m just messing with you-” 

“That’s not why I’m upset.” Luke said, walking over to Clive, taking the box out of his hand, putting it on the floor. “You didn’t even see what I got you and you already called it lame- “

“ … “ Clive hummed, “It doesn’t matter if it’s lame or not, I’ll still probably like it, unless it’s a book or something. Just as long as it came from you-” 

“ …” Luke huffed, and grabbed his hand, sliding something onto his ring finger, “I made this for you- whenever you’d fall asleep in art class I’d work on it- and I wanted to give it to you sooner but I thought you’d say … it was lame, and then I’d get my feelings hurt for the millionth time- so I just kept working on it until it was perfect-” Luke said, “ because I wanted to give you something you liked- but it just- you just hate everything …” Luke said. Clive stared down at the ring he’d made … it had a skull on it, a really detailed,  _ really sick skull. _ And it was painted with some sort of glittery silver paint, so it sparkled whenever he moved his hand … 

“Luke, what is wrong with you? This is the coolest thing I’ve ever seen, there’s no way you made this-” He said, looking at it closer. Luke … smiled, “I did! And it took a really long time, I just kept adding details … do you really like it or are you just saying that?” 

“I’m probably not gonna take it off-” Clive said, and Luke smiled, “Good! It’s really strong so you’re not supposed to take it off, ever!” 

“Hm? Why not?” 

“No reason-” Luke said, putting a ring on one of his own fingers. Mission success. “Be careful though, if you hit someone with it you could break your finger-” 

“Ah …  _ or their nose- _ ” He said, pausing, as Luke started to dig through the box. 

“ … well, as long as we’re up here, do you wanna explain what this is?” He asked, pulling out the shiny silver sex toy. Clive shrugged, “a vibrator, I thought that was pretty obvious-” 

“But Why!? What if one of them would have opened it?!” 

“They wouldn’t have-” 

“Hmf-” Luke said, looking down at it, “what do you even expect me to do with this thing. you should take it back where you got it from, it’s not like I need it when you’re always around.” 

“But you haven’t even tried it yet-” Clive said, picking Luke up like he was just a little boy who’d been playing for too long at the park. “What’s so special about it? It’s not even as big- and it feels cold-” 

“It’s not supposed to be big- i don’t think …  _ i have no idea _ ” Clive sat down on Luke’s bed. Luke blushed a little bit, letting Clive push up the end of his dress. “Does it hurt?” Luke asked, and Clive shook his head, “i don’t see why it would-” He pressed it up against Luke’s underwear, and turned it on. Luke immediately closed his legs, shoving the thing away, “that- doesn’t feel right!” 

“It was barely on you for even a second, you’re such a baby-” 

“You’re just a weirdo!” 

“Hmf-” Clive shoved it forward, forcefully rubbing Luke with it, watching his body contort as he tried to get away. He couldn’t though, not with the hand on his hip. Forcing him to eventually just give up and lay there, trying to keep his noises down. 

“See? It feels good doesn’t it- your legs are twitching like they usually do-”

“S-stop it!” 

“Make me-” 

“C-cwive- pwease it’s too much turn it off!-” Luke said, breathing hard before something suddenly came out. 

He put his hands over his mouth, and Clive stopped … 

“ _ I didn’t know you could do that- _ ” he said, referring to the now completely soaked and ruined state of Luke’s underwear. 

Luke just sighed, “I hate that thing-” He said, letting Clive pull his panties off. “How come?” 

“It didn’t feel good at all- I want you-” 

“ … I’m gonna be honest, I was kind of hoping we could hold off doing anything for a while, that’s sort of why I got it-” 

“Wha? Why?” 

Clive sighed, setting the fabric down, “Because  _ I. Don’t. Fit. _ and I’m really scared I’m gonna get you pregnant …” Clive said. Luke shook his head, “I already told you I’m on the pill- it’s okay-” 

“Yeah but- sometimes it doesn’t work and it still happens so I just don’t want-” Clive stopped, Luke squishing his face around. “ that’s really rare! It probably won’t happen no matter what we do-” Luke said, and Clive shrugged, “ why even take the chance?” 

“Well, you could start wearing condoms-” 

“No.” 

“See? What am I supposed to do? I don’t wanna stop …” Luke said, and Clive shrugged. 

“Are condoms really that bad?” 

“Condoms don't fit me … and when they do they’re really tight and I feel weird buying them- the whole thing is embarrassing and when it’s on I can barely feel anything- plus who wants to get fucked with a plastic bag?” Clive said, and Luke snorted. “It’s not  _ that _ big- i’m sure there’s one that fits perfectly fine-” 

“... well, i just dont like them so-” 

“  _ well i’m gonna make you wear one” _

Clive turned the toy back on, “then I’m gonna make you use this-” he said, and Luke did a half scream, half whine, trying to move away before arching as it was pressed up against him again. “Ahnhgh s-stop!” 

Clive turned it off, and Luke panted, laying on his side … “a-at least go slow? Isn’t there a lower s-setting or- anything- it just feels like too much-” Luke said, before gripping his sheets, feeling Clive slowly pushing it in. “a-ah-” he breathed, it went in so easily, but it was really cold. 

“I don’t know, it didn’t come with a remote or anything, and there’s just a switch on the bottom that says on and off.” He said, not getting a response … Luke was just laying there, one of his legs lifted a little bit, his dress pulled up over his belly button. His eyes were closed, and his face was such a pretty shade of red. 

“ … you look like you feel good- you sure you don’t wanna keep it?” Clive said, and Luke whimpered. Clive smiled, “I guess it’s fine just as long as i don’t turn it on?” 

Luke nodded, and he hummed, pushing it in as deep as it would go … he turned it on anyways, and Luke arched forward, holding onto his bed. Clive continued to move it around, carefully watching Luke, trying to make sure he wasn’t uncomfortable. He eventually relaxed again, “i-i’m gonna pee-” Luke breathed out, twitching as Clive kissed his neck, rubbing his body, feeling around underneath his soft dress. “Then pee-” 

“Not in the bed!” 

“Yes in the bed-” Clive said, and Luke reached down, pulling the toy out. “Please- I don’t want it- I want you!” he said, and Clive turned red, “but we-” 

“If anything happens I’ll just take responsibility I promise! Please- Nothing bad is gonna happen- we have birth control and stuff-” He said … Clive just looked at him … 

He sighed, starting to undo his pants. He was already hard, uncomfortable, and Luke was begging for it at this point, so why not? 

Luke watched him, “are you sure you’ll be alright? If something happens I’m gonna kill you-” Clive said.

“I’ll be fine!” Luke said, watching Clive lay down next to him. He laid down too, and moved closer, wrapping his leg around Clive’s waist, letting him put it in. 

“ …  _ it still doesn’t fit- you’re so small _ ” 

“Just be careful-” 

“Did you lock the door?” 

“No, they won’t come in here, don’t worry-” Luke said, holding onto Clive’s shirt as he slowly started to work the tip in. “ a-ah - ow-” 

“Are you okay?” 

“Keep going stupid!” 

“Quit calling me stupid, big head-” Clive said, burying his face in Luke’s hair, feeling his tip suddenly make it through, and Luke’s body clench around it, warm, wet- too much- way too much. He moved forward a little, and Luke winced, so he stopped … 

“Luke, please tell me if it hurts-” 

“It’s f-fine!” 

“No it’s not-” 

“Please don’t stop-” 

“... why?” Clive said, forcing Luke to look up at him. Luke quietly stared at him … before turning red, “I can take it-” He said, and Clive sighed. “It took a long time to get ready the last time we did it- but it went in easier- I didn’t get any time to do that this time-” Luke said, “so you’re just gonna have to try a little bit harder-” He said, grabbing Clive’s wrist. Clive looked down at him … he’d never been so scared to move. He did though, letting Luke hold his hands as he pulled out a little, and tried to go deeper. He only got maybe another inch inside before Luke was squeezing his arms so tight he just, couldn’t keep going. 

“This is another reason we should wait- maybe it’ll be easier if you grew more-” He said, but Luke was barely paying attention … 

Clive looked at him, watching him slowly rock his hips, sort of twisting his way further down. “You’re … just a little pervert, you don’t care how much it hurts, do you?” Clive said, giving a little thrust, forcing about three more inches into Luke. His pained groan, and sudden stop was proof enough. He was holding Clive with all the grip in his arms, shaking violently. 

Clive slowly started to thrust, And Luke moaned, feeling a sting in the middle of his chest that continued to travel up and down between his heart and between his legs. Eventually his body relaxed, and it was a lot easier to move, so Clive naturally started to go harder. He bucked his hips, smelling Luke's hair, drowning in his scent and the sensation of his body. "Mmh- C-cwive- i'm- cumming-!" 

"Don't say that Luke-" Clive said, thrusting into Luke at a pretty normal pace. Luke was drooling, tensing up, before going quiet as he heard footsteps coming up the stairs. 

He quickly pulled the blanket, "Cwive- s-stop-!"

The door opened, and Clive almost died inside, burying his face in Luke's hair. " You two are going to sleep already? Brenda is done cooking- it's time to eat-" Clark said. Luke could feel Clive squeezing him, pumping him full of cum. He was trying not to move, or make any noise, but Luke knew it was probably hard. 

"Okay- we'll be down in a second! And you're supposed to knock first!" 

"Sorry~ See you- and don't forget to wash your hands-" He said, shutting the door on his way out. Clive pulled away from Luke, pulling out, shuffling underneath the blankets like a hermit crab. 

" _ Ugh _ " Clive mumbled, closing his eyes. 

" … are you going to sleep?" Luke asked, and Clive hummed, "sorry .." He said. Luke shook his head, "Go to sleep- i'll save you something to eat, alright?" 

"Mm" 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


… 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Clive came downstairs, seeing that they'd stuffed Luke, and he was unconscious on the couch. "Ah …" he mumbled, knowing it was his turn next. He walked over to Clark, who was gently rubbing Luke's side, totally not looking up his dress. He was kissing Luke's face, running his hands over Luke's chest, probably drowning in his own lust. 

" … you're making out with him pretty hard-" Clive said, and Clark jolted, "I- was doing no such thing! Why'd you suddenly fall asleep in the middle of the day?"

"No reason … so then what was that?" 

"I can't kiss my daughter? She's going to be off to school again soon and I wont see her for another four months …" 

" … I'm not even sure if I should give you this-" Clive said, he had an envelope in his hands, and Clark was immediately curious. 

"What's in there?"

" … pictures-" 

" _ Give me- _ "

" Hm- I think I'll keep these to myself-" 

"Noo! I need those, come on, don't be stingy." 

" … I'll trade you-" 

"If you're about to ask me for one of her bras, no." 

" _ That- isn't all I think about you know!"  _

_ " _ Of course it is." Clark said, pulling Luke's dress down a little to cover him up. "Now, give me those pictures and make yourself scarce-" 

"Hm. You know that painted picture of that woman in Layton's house?" 

"Of course, that's Mia- a late family friend- why?" 

"Do you know where her boyfriend or- husband ran off to?" 

" … why?"

"Just tell me!" Clive said. He didn't know what compelled him to suddenly ask, it was night time by now, and there was no way he was gonna go looking for him. 

"Well, you didn't hear it from me, but he hits the bar around the corner pretty often. He's probably there right now, since he basically lives there, that lazy bum-" 

" … wait- really? How often is he there?" 

"As often as he can be- he's always there when I am-" 

"I- have to go-  _ what the fuck why didn't I come here sooner? _ " 

"What? Do you have business with him?" 

"S-sort of? I'm just finding all of this out today- I'll be back- wait- can you tell me what he looks like?" 

" … uh- well, he's got this old nasty beard- and he wears a top hat, sort of like the professor. Not recently though, his hair has turned gray by now, and he's got a bald spot." 

"He- sounds Ugly-" 

"Oh yea- he's got an ass for a face-" 

" …  _ he's balding? _ "

"Yup- he's been balding since he turned twenty- apparently-" 

" …" Clive walked towards the door, "oh- do you know his name?" 

" Um- I think it was Cliff-" 

" … seriously? I- I'll be back-" he said, and just like that he was gone. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Clive stared down at the ground, approaching the bar … he walked in, and looked around, unable to believe he might be this close to finding his dad. 

The bar itself was filthy, moldy wooden floors and a ceiling fan that was missing one of the blades. It smelled like piss, and vomit, and people were drinking like it was the end of the world. 

" …" Clive scanned the room, before spotting him, at the bar, staring down at a pocket watch … 

" …" Clive felt his heart drop, and he turned away, walking back outside … the door shut behind him, and he felt almost like he was going to die or something.

He sighed, no, he couldn't convince himself to do it. What if that guy really was his dad? What then? He'd have a piece of shit for a dad- a piece of balding shit …

But he still wanted to know, so he stood there, letting the wind blow across his face, the icy air biting at his features, making him wonder if it was really worth it. 

… piece of shit or not, he wanted to know … he sighed, and then winced, getting hit by the door as it opened again. 

"Haa? Get outta the fuckin' way!" Some guy said, and Clive looked up, about to get mad, before seeing it was him … 

And his face … was familiar. 

"C-Cliff- Right?" He asked, and the man stopped, dressed in a dirty coat, and old weathered jeans. 

"Who's asking?" 

"I'm asking-" Clive said, he was shaking a little bit. 

" … and who are you?" 

"I'm - Clive- I- uh- okay- ah- Long story short there's a tiny chance I might be your son- a-and I've been looking for you- and-" 

" …" Cliff was just staring … he squinted at Clive- before dropping the glass beer bottle on the ground. It shattered with a loud noise, and Clive immediately understood this man was hammered. " … you look like her- what's your name?" 

"Like Mia? And- My name is Clive-" 

"Clive what?" 

"I- didn't have a last name so it's just- Dove-" He said, Cliff stared at him. "Yea- like Mia …" He said. There was an awkwardly long pause, before Clive spoke, "s-so- you remember her? Is it possible we-" 

The guy shrugged, " I didn't even know she was pregnant-" he said, " … and how old are you?" 

"Eighteen now … what?" 

" Nothing- you just- really look like her-" he said- putting his hand to the side of Clive's face. He leaned down, and Clive instinctually reeled his arm back, punching him in the jaw. His body started fighting for him, struggling with the guy, getting pushed back onto a dumpster, before he even realized what was going on. 

"Just be still-! Mia- It's been so long-" The guy said, words slurring together. He was humping Clive's leg like a dog, moaning her name, and Clive … snapped out of it, feeling a tongue on the side of his neck.

"Get- the fuck off me!" He yelled, pulling the knife from his pocket. He … ended up stabbing him, clenching his eyes shut, hearing the guy groan. "Fucking- whore-!" He yelled, and Clive stared at him, watching him fall over. 

He looked down at the knife in his hand …There was blood on it. "I- I didn't mean to-!" 

"Fuck off!"

Clive flinched, "You need to go to the hospital! What do you mean 'fuck off' you wanna die?! And what the hell is wrong with you?!" 

"Fuck … off…" the guy said, he looked like he was going unconscious. Clive didn't know what to do, he wanted to call the ambulance but what if he got arrested for this?

He stepped back, and took off, he'd be fine- it wasn't a deep cut- it would be fine- it's fine- he's okay.

Clive could barely see with all the tears he was shedding. This was horrible, he ran for a while, just focusing in on the sound of his footsteps hitting the concrete. He was wiping his face off, wiping his neck, his mind brought him back to the exact moment this first happened, and he paused. This was just like that day, going somewhere in hopes of something good happening, knowing full well the person he was going to see was a garbage human being. This was torture, hoe could he be so stupid? Falling for the same thing twice, but he couldn't have known! Right? This wasn't his falt- this was- this was … he stopped … and covered his mouth, leaning over into the bushes, vomiting. The sound of the knife slipping into the man's body, the wet sound of blood spurting out when he pulled it out. The blood on his hands, the blood on his weapon, he hurled again, feeling disgusted at the thought of his own dad being that disgusting. 

And he threw up, again … And again …

Until there was nothing but acid left in his stomach, and he thought he was going to die. Disgusting, it was all so gross. He cried, it was the only thing left for him to do, just cry, while nobody was looking. Cry while he still had the chance, and he could be honest with himself, and say that he was in pain without worrying about anyone taking advantage of it.

Letting his tears mix with the chunks of vomit on the ground, almost screaming when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Luke, an extremely worried expression on his face. 

He didn't say anything … just stared at Clive, before quietly rubbing his arm, the same way he did when Clive was sitting in the shower that day. 

" …" Clive couldn't hold it anymore- he still felt like he wanted to throw up, he just couldn't stop, couldn't calm down or get it together. It was too much- all at once. " luke- h-he tried to- I- hh- I can't-" Clive said, shaking his head, screaming no in his mind as he was unable to talk. 

He wanted to tell Luke what happened, but he couldn't even think about it. 

Luke put his arms around him, "Let's go home …" he said, "it's gonna be okay- whatever happened you can tell me later- but right now you need to get home-" 

"No I cant- I can't-"

"Clive shhhh-" Luke said, "it's okay- I promise it's okay …" 

" …" Clive stood up, wiping his face, holding onto Luke's hand. "See? You're okay … " Luke looked down at the bloody knife in Clive's hand … and he took it from him, putting it in his pocket. 

"Luke- it's-"

"Shh … if anyone asks, you were at home with me- okay?"

"O-okay .." Clive said, letting Luke pull him along down the sidewalk. "I love you …" Luke said, hearing Clive start to cry harder. He just gave his hand a gentle rub, and tried not to think about the situation too much. 

Clive picked Luke up, holding onto him as he walked. He just needed somebody to hold, someone to hug him, and for once say it's going to be okay. Luke was doing just that, rubbing his back, easing his soul. He started to feel a little better, but he didn't let go, he couldn't let go. 


	29. the Tallest Loli

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke and Clive go back to school, it's almost like nothing ever happened.

Back at school, Having Lunch, it was cold outside, so they were in the cafeteria. Dahlia wasn't really eating, Clive just decided to answer all of her questions, and she had missed her deadline, so she was writing as fast as her hand could move.

Luke was sitting there, thinking about the pretty bracelet Clive gave his mom, and the long, awkward hug at the door where he didn’t know what to do so he just stood there apologizing for nothing. 

He seemed normal then. 

Desmond was sort of eating, for some reason, he was just eating the crust off of his sandwiches and nothing else?

Dahlia stopped writing, her hand was cramping up and she just, didn’t feel like it anymore, "god- fuck- just text me the rest alright?" She said, shoving her notebook in her bag. Clive nodded … and it was suddenly quiet. Not like that wasn’t normal, the three of them didn’t tend to talk much while they ate, well, Dahlia and Luke did, but Clive was always quiet … so they didn’t notice. 

“ … I heard you broke up-” Clive said, and Desmond sighed, “ didn’t work out-” he mumbled … and then he started to rant. Clive barely responded, watching Dez as he talked himself in circles. 

“Since when were you dating Henry?” Dahlia asked, and Desmond stopped his rant, forgetting where he was for a second … 

“Since- I don’t know- a month ago? Or something- feels like yesterday …” 

“Wow, you actually miss him?” 

“Well he’s my roommate so it’s not like I won’t see or fuck him again, it’s just going to be awkward.” Desmond said, and Luke thought about that statement for a while. “ I didn’t ever see that happening-” Dahlia said, and Desmond smiled, “why? Cause I’m weird or something? Where’s Flora?” 

“Funny you say that after calling yourself weird, she’s probably with her friends, we don’t eat lunch together all the time- unlike you three apparently-” She said, and Clive hummed, “and you-” he added. She snorted, “HA- I’m only here today because you owe me-” 

“ ehhhhhhh” Clive mumbled. 

“What? Got something to say?” 

“ … nah-”

“That wasn’t very convincing, you should work on that-” 

“I’ll try-” He said. He hadn’t touched the Lunch Luke made for him … he hadn’t eaten at all since he got back here. “So how was Christmas? Or do your parents do some sort of weird ritual and that’s why you look so dead today?” 

Luke looked up … well, Dahlia seemed to notice. 

“One, I don’t have parents  _ and you know that- _ and Two- I always look like this-” Clive said. Luke started to say something, but then someone came up to the side of the table. A girl with braces and long brown hair, a yellow headband and the eyes of a blood thirsty demon screaming in Arabic. 

She was wearing the regular school uniform, black stockings covering up her legs, which were clearly muscular, and Dez was the only one who noticed. 

She put her hand down on the table, leaning into Dahlia’s face, “So when were you gonna tell me? Huh? That you’ve just been ditching me to hang out with creeps and weirdos?!” She said. Luke huffed “who are you calling-!” He stopped as Clive held onto him, keeping him from saying anything. 

“ _ Whatever do you mean? My dear, sweet Emmy- I’ve been with a few friends, like I said- _ ” 

Emmy blushed, “Stop messing with me! Just say you don’t wanna be around me or I’m lame or you don’t like me or whatever! You don’t have to talk me in circles and then hide! It’s not like I’ll care!” She said, so clearly hurt just by the implications. 

“ … I’m not in the mood Emmy-” Dahlia said, like a mother to a disobedient child. 

“At least tell me what I did? This doesn’t make any sense!” 

“Just- move.” Dahlia said. Emmy … stood straight like she was about to crack her skull in, and glared for a second, walking around the table, “Fine! Then i’ll just take one of YOUR friends and then you’ll have to go sit with the gross theatre kids too!” she said, absolutely dragging Dez from the table. It really seemed like she was stronger than he was, but then again, he might not have been fighting, since he was into that sort of thing. 

And then they were gone … “wh- you’re just going to let her take him?!” Luke said, and Clive shrugged, “why not?” 

“He’s your friend! And who was that girl anyway?” 

“A bitch-” Dahlia mumbled. Clive sighed … “ Her ex-” 

“No she isn’t! Was it you spreading that rumor?!” 

“I was joking!” Clive said, smiling for once. 

Dahlia shook her head, “ I hate you so much, she was once a loyal servant of queen Dahlia,” Dahlia said, referring to herself in third person, as one does, “but then, one day, the queen found a much better, much smaller, much cuter friend, and so there was no need for pestering, sweaty dogs-” 

“ … a-are you talking about me? Did I replace her?” 

“Hm, perhaps-” Dahlia said, and Luke looked down, suddenly feeling bad about this whole thing. He didn’t mean to, he just … wanted to be a cheerleader. 

“But hey! Look on the bright side-” She smiled, “those two maniacs will keep each other busy and I can get out of here before she realizes she just ran off with one of the worst perverts in the school-” 

Clive shrugged, “wouldn’t it be funny if they ended up together?” 

“No. don’t even say that, it’d be terrible-” 

“How come?” 

“He would be her first boyfriend, they would- destroy each other- if you think I’m bossy or mean you haven’t seen anything-” 

“ … she seemed pretty normal to me- except- she has like- no tits-” Clive said. Luke gasped, “Clive!!” 

“Or ass-” Dahlia said, and Luke looked at her. “Not you too!” 

“But she was growing a  _ little  _ something the last time i saw- but she never comes to practice anymore-” 

“Dahlia you shouldn’t be looking!” Luke whined, and she smiled. “Luke, all the girls are looking at each other- it’s not that big of a deal-” 

“ … they are?” 

“Yup.” she said, and Clive was quiet, before leaning against the table. “On second thought, I’m kind of worried-” Clive said. Luke was worried too, he was worried from the start, but he had a weird feeling that it’d work itself out. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Desmond was still, and it was quiet, awkward … Why was it so awkward? Maybe because this whole situation was weird and he just didn’t know what to do ...

“So?” Emmy said, and he shrugged, “uh - so?” 

“So- fuckin- tell me what she’s been doing!” she said, sounding something like a desperate stalker. Dez shrugged, “We’re not that close, I’m really only ever around her when Clive or Luke is-” he said. 

It was quiet again … the two were outside, in the cold, where nobody else was, sitting at the outside tables. 

“Why does she spend so much time around those two …?” She said, and Dez shrugged, “ She wants to do some sort of report on Clive, and Luke is … a cheerleader? They’re just- friends i guess- I don’t know-” 

“Is she dating anyone?” 

“Yeah- “

“ _ Who is it?!” _

“Why don’t you ask her?” 

“ I can’t ask her something like that! Just tell me!” Emmy yelled. Dez had to pick between two options … tell her and get beat up by Dahlia, or don’t tell her and have her personally kick his ass ...

“ I’ll tell you …  _ in exchange for a kiss-  _ I really like girls with braces-” He said, option three was to just get her to leave. 

“ …  _ huh? _ ”

“I said~ I’ll tell you in exchange for a-” 

“I- Heard you! Why would i EVER-” 

He shrugged, “ why not?” 

“You’re  _ gross- _ ” 

“How come?”

“You just- are! Probably have herpes or something-” 

“ … The only illness i have is my undying love for you, whatever your name is-” 

“It’s EMMY” she kicked him from under the table, “and you’re not just- supposed to say that! You know-” 

“Is your name actually Emmy or is it like, short for something weird like Emtron9000?” 

“It’s EMMELINE-” 

“Right, so Emtron9000, what’s the mission for today?” 

“ what- are you talking about?!” 

“We have aliens to kill! Adventures to have! Planets to conquer!” Dez said, getting up. 

“If you try to leave I'll break your arm.” she said, and Desmond sat back down, “t-tables to sit at- lunch to eat- but I left mine- neverminded ...” He sighed. “You really should just go talk to her, I don’t know anything- and you’re super mean- it’s really hot but I don’t know if its going anywhere-” 

“ … you- i- …” she picked up her bag, and took out a lunch box. “You’re not going anywhere- So eat this and stop complaining!” 

“What’s that?” 

“My lunch- i made it myself so it tastes like shit but if you don’t eat it i’ll punch you in the throat-” 

“ … I doubt it’s that bad- what’s in it?” He said, taking the little yellow box from her.

He opened it … seeing nothing but cabbage. He shook it, thinking maybe it was a salad but ..

“ _ It’s all cabbage?! Are you- a rabbit? _ ” 

“Don’t complain! Just eat it-” 

“Did you- boil it?” he asked, and she huffed, “ just shut up and eat the stupid cabbage-” she said. He picked up a piece of it, and ate it … she was staring at him, but he didn’t respond … 

“So?” 

“ … it- tastes normal to me- i mean- it’s just cabbage …” He said. She stared … “really?” 

“Did- you do something to it?” 

“ …  _ maybe- _ ”

“ _ What’s in it?” _

She reached into her bag, and pulled out a bottle of … something. “This stuff-” 

“What is that?” 

“I don’t know, I found it in my grandma’s cabinet, she puts it on everything …” she said. It was white, it looked like milk but it was powder … 

“ … THAT COULD BE YOUR GRANDPA'S ASHES-”

“It’s not!” She yelled, “ you’re so annoying-!” 

“ … it’s definitely your grandpa’s ashes, i can taste his soul-”

“My grandpa isn’t dead!” 

“ _ It’s definitely your great grandpa’s ashes- _ ” 

She sighed … and smiled, “you’re so- stupid-” she said, “just go away- I don’t even care anymore-” she said … but she looked like she was going to cry, and who knows what would happen then.

“... how much do you bench?” 

“Two hundred-” 

“ _ TWO HUNDRED?! You’re lying! _ ” 

“How much do you?” 

“ TWO HUNDRED! You don’t even- look that strong-” he said, but no, it was probably correct. 

Emmy grinned, “oh yea? You wanna arm wrestle?” 

“ hmm- okay- but if I win you’re letting me kiss you-” 

“No, if you win You’ll get the privilege of me punching you in the stomach, and if I win, You have to be like my butler and do whatever I say forever!” 

“What, like one of Dahlia’s servants?” 

“ _ Exactly! _ I’ll be my own queen!” 

“ … so it’s a win-win- I’m in-” 

“ …  _ you’re so fucking weird man- _ ”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Luke sighed, wondering what was taking Clive so long. Sure it was a new semester, but he should know this school a lot better, right? Luke was holding onto his bag, standing outside in the cold, it was the middle of the afternoon, and he was alone. Apparently, Clubs had started … Did Clive leave him to go to an after school thing? But why didn’t he say something? 

He got his answer when he looked up, seeing Clive with Desmond trailing behind him. He looked like he got beat up, but he was … happy about it. “ can you believe it? And her legs are even stronger- it was like being hit in the face with a hammer- it hurt so much-” 

“ … I worry about you.” Clive said, “I thought you were just joking about wanting her to punch you and stuff- I never thought … you’d really do it-” He said. 

Desmond sighed, “ I think- we’re dating now? I have no idea- it was weird- I’m tired-” 

“From getting your ass kicked-” Clive mumbled, and Luke walked over to the two of them, “what happened to you?!” 

“ _ A miracle- _ the solution to all my problems-” 

“ … y-you look like you’re dying-” 

“My stomach just hurts a little- don’t worry about it, it’s fine-” 

“ …” Luke followed behind the two,  _ trying  _ not to worry about it, but he was extremely worried.

“So what did you two do over the break? Besides getting married and all that-” 

“We- aren’t married-” Clive mumbled. Desmond tilted his head, “you’re wearing rings now-” 

“But it’s not like an engagement ring- it’s just a thing Luke made for me- and I’m only wearing it because it looks cool and I like it …” Clive said. Desmond looked at Luke, who huffed at him, making him look away. “ Plus- who said I ever wanna get married? Seems lame-” 

“ …  _ i do … _ ” Luke said, and Clive hummed, “we’ll just say we are then-” 

“Really? You won’t get mad if I tell people you said we’re married?” 

“If you tell anyone that I’ll bite you-

“ _ Not if I bite you first- _ ”

Clive sighed, “anyway … nothing special- i guess, what about you?” He said. Desmond tilted his broken glasses, “I … was drunk so I forgot-” 

“The  _ whole time? _ ” 

“You were gone, times were dark-” 

“Is that why you two broke up?” Clive asked, feeling like it was sort of his fault. Desmond shrugged, “ it’s- it was- a lot- he wasn’t super clear- I think for the most part he just got bored.” 

“Bored- with you?!” Luke said, “How?” 

Desmond shrugged, “have you ever tried to follow up one of Clive’s acts? It’s impossible-” 

“ … sorry?” Clive said. Desmond sighed, “it’s not you-  _ it’s him _ -” 

“Well, don’t start holding grudges or something, you’ll turn into Anthony-” Clive said. 

The three stopped at the bus stop, nobody sat down on the bench, it was generally a bad idea when it was cold. If you didn’t get wet then you’d probably sit on gum, or pigeon poop, or the cold metal of the seat would immediately give you a frost burn. “ Luke, you should go home, I’ll be back later-” Clive said, and Luke looked up at him, getting an answer before he even asked. 

“Club stuff-” 

“Oh … well don’t stay out too late- and be careful …” 

He nodded, it wasn’t really like he wanted to be outside by himself anyways. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


… 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Luke stared at the clock … watching the minutes tick by. One by one, six, seven, Eight, nine, until it was 8:45 and Clive still hadn’t returned. Luke was gripping a fork, extremely worried, especially after what happened the last time Clive was out by himself. 

The door opened, and Luke relaxed, turning back to what he was doing before. What WAS he doing? He stared, the stove, a pot, cooking, cooking what? Alfredo … 

Clive shut the door, gently setting something down on the floor. Luke turned to look at him … he looked fine, but he still had that look on his face. That blank, empty look. He looked up, seemingly nervous, “are you alright?” 

“Huh?” Luke asked … before blushing, “Oh- sorry- I just- where were you?” He asked. Clive walked over to their bed, setting his bag down in the corner, “I had to go call someone but i didn’t wanna use my phone- so I walked to the office-” 

“You should have told me! I was worried-” 

“Why? We’re at school-” 

“Bad stuff still happens to you at school …” Luke said. It was quiet … before the sound of Clive getting into bed disrupted the silence and caused Luke to turn around. He was just sitting there, staring at his phone, he seemed normal, Luke didn’t wanna say anything … but he had to. 

“What happened?” 

“I stabbed some guy who tried to rape me. That’s exactly what happened, I can’t be any more honest than that.” Clive said. Luke looked down, “oh, is that why you’re acting weird again? You could have told me- I thought someone hurt you or something- or you killed someone …” Luke sighed. 

“Why would I kill someone? Do  _ you _ kill people?” 

“ … sometimes.” Luke smiled, and Clive looked over at him, “that’s  _ so _ Creepy-” 

“You’ll be next if you don’t start telling me these things!” 

“Right- …” Clive sighed, and laid down, his face coming into contact with the familiar stuffed bear he’d gotten for himself … he forgot what he’d named it, pulling it out from underneath his face. It’s body was so small, he pressed it’s stomach, squeezing it … for some reason it calmed him a little. Luke continued to watch him, before looking back at the pot, seeing that he’d turned the heat up, only to burn the contents. He quickly put a lid on it, and almost had a heart attack … 

Oh well, he didn’t really feel like cooking anyways. He moved it off of the stove and put the lid on it, turning the stove off. “We should order something-” Luke said, getting an empty nod … 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Morning, in January, on the bus. Luke didn’t sleep at all last night, he kept waking up to someone texting Clive, and no matter how much he tried to shut it off, it wouldn’t. Though, now he couldn’t sleep for an entirely different reason, because … 

He was standing next to Clive, holding onto the bus’s pole as he just watched in awe as someone was finally able to shut Dez up, Emmy. It was so weird, so unnatural, usually he’d be talking at a million miles per hour but he was just sitting there, like a dog on a leash. 

_ And he seemed so happy about it. _

“ … um- h-hi” Luke said, and Emmy looked at him, immediately snapping, “I don’t associate with Dahlia’s little henchmen-” 

“ … ah-” Luke said, having never gotten the impression that he was somehow a henchman. 

“ I just wanted to say I like your headband-” He said, and she huffed. Today her headband had a flower on it, and Luke was just now noticing she had freckles. She reached out, “your hair clips are cute t-” She stopped, for some reason feeling a sense of dread. When she looked up, all she saw was Clive squinting at her …

“ … what?” she said, and he hummed, “ I don’t like people touching him, so don’t.” 

“ … and what are you gonna do about it?” 

He shrugged, so she lifted a hand.

When Clive went to swat it away, she grabbed his wrist, and squeezed. 

Desmond seemed to snap out of his trance, watching the two as the sudden death match started. Clive turned his arm, grabbing her by her own wrist.

The two were completely still, or so it seemed, squeezing each other's arms, it was painful, more painful than their straight faces would lead anyone to believe. 

She suddenly stopped, “when the bus stops, outside.” She said, and he squinted … before looking away … “sure.” he said, and Desmond looked at the two, “huh? I thought you didn’t fight girls? What happened to it being weird?” 

“She’s pissing me off-” 

“ … well- uh- I’m not sure who to route for so I’m just going to politely ask that you both don’t.” 

“Shut up.” Emmy said, and Dez was quiet, “ _ but emmyyyy- _ ” 

The bus stopped, and Luke followed them all as they got off, and Clive immediately dropped his bag. Emmy dropped hers too, and a couple people stopped. 

“Clive! You can’t really be about to fight again, you two just met!” 

“Hm.” He said, before feeling Luke grab his hand. “It’s okay- it’s not like she hurt me or something-” 

“ _ It’s not about that- _ ” Clive said. Luke looked over at Emmy … 

It was only the second day back, and Clive was already about to fight someone. 

Luke sighed, and moved out of the way, so he wouldn’t get hit this time. 

“You should do something-” Luke said, to Desmond, who felt just as useless as he did. “Uh- well- maybe they won't …” He said. 

But they did, Emmy moved first, triggering Clive to take some sort of defensive stance. He turned a little, moving out of the way of her fist by just a few centimeters. She was aiming from his stomach, probably trying to get this over with quick. 

Luke stared at them, it didn’t take long, Emmy knew she could get Clive down by punching him in the stomach, and Clive knew he could knock anyone out with a punch to the face. 

But it didn’t quite happen like that. Clive wasn’t used to fighting with anyone that uses their legs, so while he wasn’t paying attention, All Emmy had to do once she was close enough was kick upwards. 

A combination of that, and shoving his head down, a knee to the face, and suddenly Clive was getting the shit beat out of him. 

Desmond just watched them go, it didn’t last, at that point Clive shut off the rationality, and there was an audible crack as his fist connected with her face. 

Luke covered his mouth, watching them go, and go, and go, until finally they were both on the ground, wheezing. 

“ … That’s what you both get for smoking!” Desmond said, and Clive mumbled something, laying on the grass … “Emmy …” he mumbled, and she huffed, “what?” 

“You’re cool …” 

“ …  _ really? _ ” 

“Yea-” He coughed, and sat up. She wiped the blood from her nose, and flinched, “ah … do you wanna walk to class wi-” 

“No.” he said, getting up. He picked up his bag, and walked over to Luke, who grabbed him by his hand, pulling him away as he scolded him. Desmond hesitantly walked over, “ you’re okay, right?” He said, holding his hand out. She got up on her own, face completely red, “You! Walk with me.” 

“ sure-” 

“ …” she turned even more red, picking up her bag, grabbing his hand. “From now on you’re going to stay with me, and do whatever I say- and I’ll give you ONE thing in return.” she said. 

“ … well … sure- I actually do kind of need a favor? At this point I’ll do whatever you want if you’d help pay my tuition?” 

“ ... I’m rich, you know that right?” 

“ _ I didn’t know that- _ ” 

“ _ Well now you know…  _ hm, you’ll do anything? You’ll be my punching bag?” 

“Well I would have done that for free-” he said, being pulled off as she started walking. “ don’t be weird, you should at least get paid for it-” 

“Are you offering to pay me to be your punching bag? As in, you wanna beat me up and then give me money for it … ” 

“Yeah …” 

“ ...  _ i love you- _ ” 

She let go of his hand, “ugh- don’t be gross about it-” 

“Wait! I’ll be quiet~” 


	30. A Break

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An argument escalates until the two wonder if maybe it'd be better if they took a break.

Luke decided to wear shorts again today, it was a little less cold, so he wore some long socks to keep his legs from freezing off. He wasn't allowed to wear hair pins or accessories while he was testing, which sucked. He really wanted to wear a headband he'd gotten from Emmy. He watched Clive as he stared down at a test paper …

He was supposed to study for this, if he tried really hard then he would be able to do this on his own, and pass with 100% accuracy … but he was supposed to study over the christmas break. 

It slipped his mind, what had he been doing instead? Playing house with Luke, making terrible decisions, throwing up, crying. Luke let him borrow one of the many cute pencils in his case, this one had a cute heart eraser on it … they weren’t sitting together anymore, during the break, the school finally accommodated everyone for the mass of students. 

More desks, less classes together, it was slowly going back to normal …

Luke flinched as a piece of paper hit him in the side of the head, he looked at Clive, who was turning the other way … 

Separate desks, but still together somehow. Luke picked up the small piece of paper from off of his desk, cursing it for stinging the side of his face the way it did.

He opened it ..

"Answers?" Was all it said. Luke … smiled. His chance at a little bit of payback … but- that would be mean, and these tests are important- but Clive should have studied! … 

Luke sighed … and ignored him, continuing to work on his test. He started to read the next question, eyes skimming over the words before a second piece of paper hit him in the head, and he looked at Clive, who glared back at him. 

"  _ Stop that!" _ He hissed through his teeth, taking the cursed piece of paper and opening it up. 

"I'll kill you." 

… Luke flicked it away, only to be hit with yet another paper bullet.

"Clive!" He yelled, before covering his mouth. The teacher looked over at the two, before shaking her head, "Outside." She said, looking more disappointed than she ever had. 

"But it's not my fault! He was throwing stuff at me!" Luke yelled, trying to make some sort of defense.

"I don't wanna hear it, I tried to be nice and keep you two together, all I asked was that you keep it down, and you promised you would, outside." 

"But-" 

"This is not up for discussion!" She said, sitting upright in her desk as she shut her book … and Luke stood, grabbing his bag. Clive was already outside, he didn't care, he never cared. Luke just sighed, he felt like he was going to cry, this test was important, he wanted to get into his dream college- what if Clive had just ruined that?

Luke shut the door to the classroom as he walked outside, and Clive shrugged, "should have given me the answers-" 

"It's sad that you're taking the same test as me, a "dumb first year." And you don't know the answers. You were supposed to study!" 

"You were supposed to help me study-"

"Don't blame this on me! You know it's your fault! Everything we did besides study was because of you!"

Clive looked at him, seemingly offended, before gritting his teeth, "... It was your idea to go to your parents house and do all that stuff! What do you mean?!" Clive yelled back, "I didn't wanna be there in the first place!" 

"But I still had time to study!" Luke yelled.

"When?! I never even saw you touch a book! And who studies on vacation?!"

"People who actually care about school! And want to get good grades! Don't try and drag me down just because you're stupid and can't think about anything without someone holding your hand and telling you all the answers! You know school is important for me!" Luke yelled, "you just- do you even care?! I'm trying so hard for you all the time and you just- ignore me- and shut me out- and then act like everything is my fault-! And then you just say you're sorry and I always have to forgive you because i can't even tell whether or not you're lying …" Luke said, tears stinging his eyes. " You're so nice to everyone else but you just- do whatever you want to me and i'm supposed to sit here and take it all like i don't feel anything-" he said, wiping his face, "I have problems too, i have things to worry about, I get scared- i cry just like you do!" He said, doing just that. " But I wouldn't ever do any of this to you!" 

" … let's break up." Clive said, and Luke looked up at him. He waited for maybe a second … Or two seconds, and immediately burst into tears, running off in the other direction. 

Clive just stayed there, watching him leave … it was probably for the better. He turned, and walked off, where? Who knows. Just anywhere that wasn't here. He looked down at his hand, staring at the ring Luke had made for him … 

"  _ It took me a long time"  _

_ "You hate everything" _

_ "Don't take it off."  _

He clenched his fist, shoving his hands in his pockets. Whatever, what does it even matter? He did his best, they're just not fit for each other, breakups happen all the time…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Luke sat in the bathroom, he couldn't stop crying, the more he cried the worse he felt, until he was curled up, sobbing into his legs. His socks were completely soaked from tears, and the echoes of his moans were loud, embarrassing, but he couldn't bring himself to care. 

They were just fine the other day …

He sniffled, before flinching when someone knocked on the door. He sat up straight, " … go away! I don't wanna talk to you!" 

" Uh …" came a voice, " Clive told me to come get you- are you two okay?" Dez said. 

"No! I hate him!" Luke whined, embarrassing, so embarrassing. 

"Aw- come on- that's not true- can you come out?" Dez asked … Luke picked up his bag, and pushed open the door, listening to the quiet creak it made as he stepped out of the stall. He sniffled, and wiped his face with his sleeve, before he was lifted up into Dez's arms. "I'm sorry- whatever happened- it's gonna be okay-" he said, rubbing Luke's back. 

Luke just continued to cry, he felt like such a baby, he wished his mom was here to hold him like this, but no. 

Dez carried him out, nuzzling him, trying to calm him down. All it really did was put him to sleep. 

"Do you want me to take you home?" Dez asked, and Luke shook his head, "can i stay with you for a while?" 

"... Of course! You can stay as long as you want Lukey!" 

"Thank you-" Luke said, hoping this wasn't a bad idea. 

"I'm still shocked- we're related- i would have never guessed-" Dez said, and Luke smiled, " i guess you really are my big brother then-" 

" …" 

" I shouldn't have said that- weirdo-" 

" _ Cute- _ " 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Cold … everything was cold, Clive was cold, this hallway was cold, and gross, why was he here? Was he trying to hurt himself? It was late in the afternoon, and he’d knocked on the door a few times by now, but nobody had answered …

And when the door finally did open, he couldn’t really bring himself to look up. Alfendi seemed so surprised, “I- … did you come to kill me or something?” 

“ …” Clive, reached out, wrapping his arms around him, He didn’t know why he was here, this is just where his legs took him when he walked off. Alfendi moved back, shutting the door, he could feel tears sinking into his shirt …

“You’re … crying?” 

“...”

“ …” Alfendi sighed, putting his arms around him, “you didn’t actually tell anyone did you?” 

Clive shook his head, it was just a bluff to get him to leave. Alfendi ran his hand up and down his back, under his shirt, “You should have …” He said, “I’m sorry-” he said even quieter. Clive wasn’t saying anything, he was probably choking. He was squeezing Alfendi so hard, he obviously didn’t wanna let go, but- 

“You’re really freaking me out- what happened?” Alfendi asked, and Clive … didn’t reply, just hugged him tighter. “ i-” he started, “Just- keep fucking things up- i don’t know what I’m doing- I’m not good at doing anything on my own I just-” 

“ … so you came here? I don’t think I can help you-” 

“I don’t want your help- you’re the only other person who’s seen me cry- i just wanna cry-” 

“ … oh-” Alfendi said … he moved over to his bed, and sat down, holding onto the overgrown boy. He guessed he must be comforting, for someone like Clive, who doesn’t tell anyone anything, for fear of it being used against him. Alfendi had already done the worst possible thing he could have to him … so there was nothing to hide. No reason for Clive to be uncomfortable, because in his head, He wasn’t a threat anymore … it didn’t even matter- what happened. 

Or maybe he really did just- have no friends. 

He flinched when Clive sat up, wiping his face, “ a while ago- i thought i was about to meet my dad- i was so- ready to see him- that I completely forgot, that I actually know what my dad looks like …” Clive said, “and that guy was not him- It almost happened again- I stabbed someone- and then I started thinking about you- and I got sick- I’m just- so tired- I don’t know what to do- and you always act like you know me so well- how to i-” 

He paused, “i want it to stop-” 

He was so quiet, even when he cried, “we were so close- I felt like i could be as weird as I wanted around him- and he wouldn’t care- and he never did- he never made me feel disgusting or like-” Clive hiccupped- “ and all I ever did was yell at him- why? And now I broke up with him but I just- it’s only been a few hours I can’t ask him to take me back!” 

“ … I- have- never seen you so upset, you should calm down …” Alfendi said, and Clive shook his head, he couldn’t, it was impossible. “You’re a shitty person, how do you live with it?” 

“Rude-” 

“ please-” 

“ … do better, I guess …” 

“ … I think this is as good as I’ll ever be-” Clive said. 

“ that’s …  _ probably  _ not true- uh, do you wanna wipe your face man?” 

“ no …” 

“ …” Alfendi smiled, “ wipe your face-” he said … and Clive stuck his face in Alfendi’s shirt, blowing his nose in it. 

“There, you happy?” 

“Gross- what’s wrong with you?” 

“Everything … Do you even go to school? Your entire room is just an edible bakery-” 

“ not really, I’m here to make money, mostly-” 

“ … what? How do you not go to school-” 

“ …  _ I finished school like three years ago- _ ” 

“ … HOW OLD ARE YOU-” 

“21” 

“How did you get in here?!” 

“ I walked on campus and nobody stopped me, they gave me an ID, it was … easy- all I had to do was ask-” 

“ …” Clive just looked at him, “i- …” 

“ I’m joking! You’re so gullible- you just believe anything huh?” 

“I- shut up-” 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Luke stared down at the table, he was out, eating with Dez, and Emmy. supposedly they were going to go on a date, but Emmy didn’t really see it as a date, really it was just Dez buying her multifarious amounts of pizza and imagining they were on a date. 

She sure could eat- 

“ …” Dez sighed, “so, what are you gonna do now?” he asked, watching Emmy eat, completely enchanted. Luke was trying not to stare, she just .. reminded him of Clive …

“I don’t know, it’s gonna be awkward, and I don’t want him holding me anymore, but we have to sleep in the same bed now …” 

“Oh, right, you did throw out your other one-” 

Luke nodded … “but i started thinking, maybe it’s better this way- he never seemed happy, no matter what I did, maybe someone else could do a better job- he’s probably with someone right now …” Luke sighed, “I just hope he doesn’t hate me.” 

“What? He could never hate you- he probably just didn’t wanna keep making you cry like that, he sucks at controlling himself, since nobody ever taught him how, you know?” 

“ … but that’s no excuse to be so mean- all the time” 

Dez shrugged, “ well, he’s gotten better, hasn’t he? I haven’t heard him call you pukey in a while- and he hasn’t hit you either has he?” 

“ … no … but no girlfriend should hit their boyfriend-” 

“Pfft- is he the girlfriend?” 

“Yes-” Luke said, and Dez smiled, “Well, you should go tell your girlfriend how you feel about him- change takes time- I’m not sure if you two should just get back together, but- he is trying. Still, maybe a break is what you need, if he’s blaming you for everything then he’s probably feeling a little- pent up?” 

“ … is it my fault?” 

“No, not at all, you’re doing your best by telling him when something is wrong, it was his choice to leave, you did the mature thing by just leaving.” Dez said. 

“ … you sound so grown up all of a sudden-” 

“Huh? Oh- no I just- I’ve been dealing with him for a while- You learn a lot-” 

“I guess I get it … seems like he respects you a lot more than he does me-” 

“Hm? He respects you- it’s just a different kind of respect, I think, I don’t know, I’m not a therapist, just trust me- you’re not like his pet anymore- he all but worships you at this point-” 

“ he doesn’t act like it ..” 

“That’s Clive … i think- this time he just had a lot of fun with you, and he doesn’t wanna think that somehow having fun with you is a bad thing, or something he shouldn’t have done- so he just blamed it on you instead …” 

“ … hm.” Luke said, “You seem so different when you act normal-” 

“Why does everyone say that? I’m always acting normal-! Emmy do you think I’m weird?” 

“ …” she stared at him, picking something out of her braces. 

“Super weird.” She said, flicking it at him. He blushed, wiping the little stray piece of what looked like pepperoni off of his glasses, “kind of fat too, what do you eat?” 

“Huh? How would I get fat? I walk everywhere- and- I don’t know- lately I’ve been eating a lot of bread-” 

“ … Bread makes you fat-” 

“No it doesn’t” 

“Yeah it does-” 

“ …  _ you still love me right? _ ” 

“Since when did I love you?” 

“ Since we first met! And we locked eyes and romantic anime music started playing and two baby angels came down from heaven and shat out sprinkles and we kissed and got married-” 

“ … w h a t-” 

“ look at your hand!” he said, and she looked down … 

“When- when did you put a ring on me? Where did you get this from? Is it real? 

“While you were asleep on the bus, I got it from Claire’s, and no, it’s glass, but it’s pretty right? It’s a sunflower- like your headband-” 

“ …” She hummed, and took it off, “It’s creepy.” 

“Ah, I figured you’d say that- so I put one on your other hand too!” 

She looked … and took that one off, throwing them both at him, “that’s like- SO CREEPY-” 

“Check your pocket” 

“Oh my god how many did you get!?” 

“A lot! I’m not giving up!” 

Luke giggled, watching her throw all of the rings at him. Eventually she stopped, and sighed, picking one of them up … 

“At least think about it?” He asked, being sincere for once. 

“ ... maybe.” She mumbled, tossing it aside, “You’ve only known me for like- four days man, give it a rest-” 

“I can’t- I don’t know how-” 

“ …” She huffed, “ well you’re gonna have to try something else, I don’t wear that stuff-” 

“Hmm … Okay!” He said, “you want some ice cream?”

“ no- I wanna see you eat something-” 

“I’m good-”

“Nope! You have to-” she said. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Luke stared at Dez, who seemed like he’d eaten as much as he could, which was a lot- 

Emmy was poking his face with a straw, trying to get him to drink a soda, but he refused. 

“ I think he’s done …” Luke said, and she hummed, “that’s disappointing.” she said, “ I thought you could eat more- I guess you don’t really like me-” she said … He sighed, “Don’t question my love!” he whined, taking the soda, 

“D-dez-” 

“Shhh-” Emmy said, and they were quiet … He stopped, “nah- I’m gonna throw up-” He said, and she nodded, “You did good enough, the queen will consider you for courtship.” She said, getting up, referring to herself in the third person … as one does. 

And then she left … 

Desmond sighed … 

“Are you okay?” Luke asked, and he nodded, “I’m in-” 

“You two are both weird- does she like making you hurt or something?” 

“ … iiiii … don’t know-” Dez said, taking his glasses off, “I hope so-” 

“You hope she likes hurting you?” 

“Yeah-” 

“ … why?” Luke asked, and Dez shrugged, wiping his glasses off, “ same reason I’m friends with Clive … I don’t mind-” He said, getting up, “you can walk yourself home, I’m gonna go make myself throw up-” 

“Ah- o-okay- be careful!” 

“I’ll try-” Dez said as he walked around the table, barely even making it before he was running. 

“ …” Luke hummed, and picked up his bag, standing up. Maybe he and Clive could just talk about it? Wherever he was. Luke was going to wait for Dez, of course, but he should probably go and find his girlfriend next … 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Clive stared up at the ceiling … it’d been a while, since he was high. Nothing was happening, he was just laying here, watching a movie with Alfendi, who seemed like a completely different person. 

Clive knew it probably wasn’t true, he was probably just waiting for him to go to sleep or something, but he didn’t care. Why should he care what happens to his body anymore? Alfendi could do whatever he wanted …

No, that sounds wrong, he shouldn’t be so upset about something he did to himself, but he was. “This shits lame-” Alfendi mumbled … and Clive shrugged, “I have no idea what’s happening-” 

“Cause you have ADD or something probably-” 

“ …” 

“Clive?”

“Huh- there’s- look-” Clive said, sitting up, motioning over to the corner of the room. There was a roach in the corner- Alfendi shrugged, “what?”

“Kill it-” 

“You kill it-”

“It’ll bite me-”

“Roaches don’t bite people-”

“Yes they do!” Clive said, before getting distracted by his phone vibrating in his pocket. He took it out, seeing that it was Luke calling him … he answered, 

“What.” 

“ … are you coming home? It’s late” Luke said, and Clive squinted at the wall, “ … um-” he mumbled, before getting interrupted by Luke, “I’m not mad anymore- I just want you to come home so I can sleep- we don’t even have to talk if you don’t want to- just come back?” 

“ … yeah- alright- I’ll be there in a second-” Clive said, hanging up …

“You leaving?” Alfendi asked, and Clive sighed … “i guess-”

“Do you wanna leave?”

“I don’t know … i think so-” 

“Well, you should come back sometime-”

“Don’t get your hopes up- I just panicked …” he said. “Ugh why did i let you convince me to get high again-” 

“Are you gonna be able to make it home?” 

“I’m fine …” he said, before getting up. He picked up his bag, and walked towards the door, watching the roach run away into the room as he went.

He was thinking about what he was gonna say when he got there, 

“I’m sorry, I swear I wasn’t trying to make you cry” 

“I don’t want you to have to feel like that anymore, so I’ll never say anything like that again-”

“ I didn’t really wanna break up, I’m sorry I made you cry, let’s start over-” 

Clive sighed, walking outside the building. Home, where was home? Where is this? Where was he? 

… he should have asked Alfendi to walk him home, shit. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Luke looked in the mirror, staring at the cute binder he’d gotten for christmas … he wanted to sleep with it on, honestly, he hadn’t taken it off since he got it. 

The door opened, and he turned, peeking out of the bathroom to see Clive, already passed out … 

“Are you- okay?” 

“ … sorry, I’m high …” Clive said, “Just a little bit though- i have a headache- I’m sorry for yelling at you- I’m sorry for breaking up with you- i don’t wanna be apart …” 

“ … are you sure? It’s only been a day, maybe we should break up …” 

Clive was quiet, so Luke came out of the bathroom … he sat down on his bed, and Clive sat up, “I don’t think we should-” he said, “i don’t want to-”

“Me neither but- I don’t know, this happens all the time … maybe it’d just be better if you found someone else …” 

“ …” Clive sighed, “I don’t want to-” 

“ …” Luke looked down at his hand … “You took it off?” he asked, and Clive tilted his head, “took what off?” 

“My ring! Don’t play with me! If you want to break up then just stick to it!” 

“What?” Clive looked down at his hand, before getting up. He checked his pockets, nothing, he started digging through his bag, nothing, he started frantically searching every little spot he could think of … and Luke just watched him. 

“ … you lost it?” 

“No! I never took it off! This is literally …  _ wait- ALFENDI-”  _ Clive yelled, “I hate him so much! Ugh-” 

“Are you telling me someone stole it? You don’t have to lie- it’s not gonna hurt me any worse-” 

“I- I’m not lying Luke- I love that ring, i’d never lose it- i swear- I know I’m not nice all the time but I really did like it- there’s no fucking way I lost it and- I- I’m gonna go get it!” he said, walking back towards the door. Luke just watched him leave … 

He looked down at his own hand … and took it off, setting it on the nightstand. 


	31. act Thirty one

So, He got the ring back. He had it on his hand, all for the low low price of hurting his fists instead of his back during the second altercation. Some things really don’t change, no matter how much he sort of, kind of wanted them to. He had his forehead pressed to his locker, Clive had already dropped Luke off at his classes, but since he failed his test, he wasn’t allowed into what was supposed to be his fourth period class … so, he had a free period. 

He hit his head against his locker, trying to gather together his thoughts. Luke forgave him, but life was looking a little bleak. He was just … thinking, at this point. Just thinking. Maybe the clash of metal was a little calming, maybe knocking his brain around would do some good … he stopped … and wondered if he’d feel better if he threw Luke in a trashcan. Maybe it’s just in his nature to be terrible. He felt someone tug at the bottom of his shirt, and he turned, staring at …

Big boobs, and- long brown hair- and- big boobs-

“Your school is so big!” Brenda said, “I was looking all over for you! Where’s Lukey?” She asked, a happy smile on her face. She had on … the school’s uniform. This was- confusing, too many themes, mom, schoolgirl, milf- overdrive, too much at once ... Clive … took in a breath, “h-huh?” he asked. Was he tripping? Did Alfendi slip him something? Why would she be at school? 

“ …” Brenda waved her hand in front of his face, “Luke! Where is Luke-” 

“ … OH- He’s- In class-” Clive looked away. “Why- uh- what are you here for? And- where’s Clark?” He asked. 

Brenda didn’t say anything …

“Clark? Clark …  _ Clark- _ ” She said, “Clark ... - Clark is at home … and- I’m here because … because uhhh” She thought for a second, and he turned to her. “You, forgot why you were here?” He asked, and she hummed. 

“No, I’m trying to think of a good lie, let’s see …” 

“I … w-whatever- It’s fine- why’d you come by yourself?” 

“ … uhhhhh-”

Clive shut his locker, “How did you even get in here?” He asked … and she was quiet for a few seconds ...

“You’re asking all the wrong questions! Don’t you wanna show me around?” Brenda asked, quickly walking off down the hallway, “This place is like it’s own city! And it’s been so long since i’ve been at school-” 

“W-wait! That’s a really important question! The gates are closed and they’re not gonna let you in just because you have on a- W-Wait!” Clive said, following her out. She continued to ignore him, enchanted by the bus that passed by. It was such a nice bus, pretty and outlined with silver paint. The inside looked new, and clean. It stopped, and a few people got off, probably on their way to lunch since it was coming up pretty soon. She immediately walked up to someone, and started up a conversation. Clive wanted to stop her, but he’d been left in the dust. By the time he actually caught up, she was already on the bus, yelling for him to hurry up. 

“We’ve got places to be!” She yelled from the bus doors, before moving to the side to let Clive on. “How- are you so fast-” he wheezed. 

“Hmm? Why wouldn’t I be? I was on the track team!” She said, walking over to one of the seats. She sat down, innocently pushing her hair out of her face as she looked out the window.The bus was empty, but it went on a scheduled route, stopping at stops, even if nobody was on. Clive sighed, and moved over, holding onto one of the poles. “Please don’t just run off like that, I know it’s a highschool but- it’s- still dangerous-” 

“Hm? Are you telling your mother what to do?” 

“ _ Please?” _

“Alright! I’ll just hold your hand from now on-! So where are we going now?” she asked, and Clive blanked out for a second. 

“Ah … Hm- I’m meeting up with Luke to have lunch in about an hour, and- the bus is headed towards the shops right now …” he said. “But everything will be closed until lunch time …” He said. Brenda grinned, “oh?” she asked, “so then when you were hitting your head against your locker, you were just bored?” 

“ … yeeeaah?” He said, “something like that …” 

She nodded, a really determined look on her face. “Well- I know you weren’t going to just go and do nothing for an hour! So what were your plans?” 

“ …” 

He was planning to go and sit with the cheerleaders, but- even though his “gawking at girls” phase had crashed and burned, and he was mostly there because he was friends with Dahlia … he didn’t know whether or not he’d have to explain. 

But- maybe it’d be better if he didn’t take Luke’s mom there? He thought about the possibility of her trying to dance with the cheerleaders and he’d probably explode …  _ but then again-  _ but- no. 

Where else could he go, though? There was nowhere to go- Dez was busy … he was in theatre now and he told Clive to stay away, he was too much of a distraction since one of their best actors was a really, really, really shy girl. 

“Hello~?” Brenda asked, and Clive looked up. “Well- uh-” He mumbled. Think, think, think, what was Henry doing? No, wait, Clive didn’t really even like Henry as a friend. He really needed to make more friends, being popular sucks when you can’t trust anyone. 

Who to go to? 

“ we- I- Guess I could just show you around or something …” He suggested, not seeing the subtle grin that came to her lips for just a few seconds, and on que the bus stopped. She stood, “Sounds like fun! Let’s go!” Her voice trailed off as she ran off the bus. Clive was just trying to keep up, reason number thirty five not to smoke, your mom might show up and run circles around you at school. 

She was running over to a fenced area, running right up to the chain links, pressing her face to it in pure curiosity. The swim team, the- male swim team was doing their routine or, whatever they did, practicing laps or something, Clive had no idea. 

“That pool is massive! They practice even in the cold? Amazing!” She said, and Clive shrugged. “The water is heated, they’re cheating.” he said under his breath. She looked around, and he wondered for a second … “if you’re looking for the gate, it’s locked, but- the lock is old and rusty so if you really wanted to, you could get in…” He said.“but If you keep walking- the gym is that way-” he said, “but there’s not much to-” 

“Gym? Is anyone inside?” 

“ …” Clive hummed … “the girls weightlifting club-”

“Anyone else?” 

“ … the boys too-”

“Let’s go!” 

“ …” Clive followed behind her, she seemed so happy, marching along the grass with her fist raised into the air. She was a lot like Luke, he just couldn’t help but notice, the enthusiasm, the smile, the incredible shortness. She even looked young in the face, if you cropped her body out, she couldn’t be more than sixteen …

Wow, Clark sure does have a type. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Clive stared down at the lunch Luke made for him, He didn’t even know Luke had made him a lunch. Even though he made one every day, it was hard to get used to someone cooking for him … it was especially hard when Brenda also made one, and they were both competing to convince him to eat theirs first. 

Dahlia was just on the phone with someone, and Emmy was here, pacing like a caged dog as she waited for Dez to show up. Flora was asleep, with her head on Dahlia’s lap. She could snore pretty loud for someone so small …

Clive was still as Luke started poking the side of his face with an octopus shaped sausage. He saw it on tv and he wanted to try and make one. “Open … your- mouth!” He said, scraping the piece of meat against Clive’s teeth. 

Luke wondered what was wrong with him … he looked over at Brenda, “maybe it’s some sort of choice paralysis-” she said, and Luke hummed … “ Well I'm your boyfriend so I should get priority!” He said, and Clive finally sighed. 

“L-Luke- You know who this is- right?” he said, motioning to Brenda. Luke just stared … “Nope- but she seems cool.” he said. Clive went quiet again … and Luke started to get nervous, “Isn’t she just one of your friends?” 

“Luke! You’re kidding-” Clive said, “You have to be fucking with me- You really can’t tell?” He said, and Luke squinted … 

He looked over at Brenda, who smiled … “Nope,” Luke said. Clive sighed, “Luke! This is- Brenda!” He said, and Luke hummed, crossing his arms, “No it’s not- She’s got a mole!” 

“It’s just makeup!!” 

“Hm? I’m not wearing any makeup!” Brenda said, picking up a napkin. She licked it, and scrubbed her face with it, “See? It’s completely clean!” She said, showing it to Clive … 

“That- then- h-huh?!” he said, “but earlier you said-”

“I said nothing! You’re just paranoid-” 

“No, I'm not!” Clive said, turning back to Luke, “Luke- please- you have to believe me-” 

“ …” Luke just stared at Clive … who put his head down on the table, “forget it- i’m not hungry-” he said, trying to make sense of this. Luke looked over at the girl, “I think he just can’t tell the difference since he spent all his time looking at the boobs instead of the face-” 

Clive reached over, pinching Luke, getting an annoyed wince in response. He slapped Clive’s arm, and they started hitting each other before Luke finally stopped. “You’re so mean- I was just joking~ You’ll feel better if you eat something-” Luke said. Clive started to say something back, but then he heard a crack, and he looked up to see Desmond on the ground with his glasses snapped in half. 

“Don’t ignore me!” Emmy yelled … Dez just nodded, Clive wondered if this was abusive or not … he could stop it, he just didn’t want to …

He got up, hearing Luke snort, and break up into a laughing fit. 

Why?

Dez’s eyes look really small without his meter thick glasses on. 

He didn’t seem bothered by it, he just pulled out a spare pair from his pocket. “What’s wrong with Clive?” he asked, sitting down at the table. Emmy walked up behind him, murderous intent in her eyes … 

“He thinks this girl is my mom-” Luke pointed to Brenda, who waved to Dez …

“Wha? But she has a mole-” 

“That’s what I said!” 

Clive sighed, “it’s not fucking real!” He yelled, and Luke whisper-yelled at him to stop cursing. Dez hummed, “but they do look alike-” he said, not getting a response from Clive, who was just- done. 

“ … yeah.” he mumbled, and Dahlia looked over. “ Hm … So, Luke’s mom has a body like that? Nice-” she said, and Clive huffed. “ it’s nice until you realize what it means-” he said, and Luke hit him again, “you better not be talking about me!” 

“I am!” 

“ I’m not guaranteed to look like that, you pervert!” 

  
“It’s a possibility … maybe you’ll grow a mole too- and start showing up to mess with me-” 

“What? Like a witch?” Luke asked, and Clive groaned … “shut up.” he said …

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


“You’re so slow!” Brenda yelled, and Clive stopped. He mentioned something about a party, and she immediately wanted to go. Clive tried to stop it from happening, but she was gonna go whether he wanted her to or not. He was carrying Luke on his back, up the stairs of the third building. Why was this happening today? It didn’t feel … like it was. But there was no mistaking the soft thuds of bass speakers, shaking the building’s wall. 

The theme for this party was … alcohol. That’s it. Whoever was throwing it, must be depressed, because there were beer bottles and just- too much, rolling down the stairs as he climbed them. It was nothing short of a miracle. Everyone was just wearing their uniforms, even when Clive finally managed to get to the top without dying, the only thing he saw was everyone ingesting all kinds of chemicals like it was the end of the world. 

He stood there, panting as he watched Brenda, or- “linda” as she was calling herself, immediately slip away down the dimly lit hallway. It was so dark Clive could barely see- it wasn’t until she opened a door, and was greeted by a glaring light, that Clive even saw the other people standing in the hallway. He took a step forward, but was stopped by Luke, who shuffled down off of his shoulders, “Let’s stick together!” he said, holding onto Clive’s hand. 

Clive nodded, following Luke, feeling his phone go off in his pocket. As Luke opened a door, Clive squinted down at the message. 

From that same stupid number, “ Go home, it’s not safe for you here.” It said, but Clive just ignored it.

He stared at it for a while though, and started to get scared. He wondered why he needed to go home, but he … didn’t know if he really wanted to find out. Still, he couldn’t just leave Brenda here, and Luke with her, so he shoved his phone into his pocket as he made his way into someone’s dorm. They were all just- smoking, and eating, and cuddling. Luke was standing over in the corner, some guy was giving him something that probably wasn’t just weed. Luke took it, and Clive let his attention drift over to the tv as he came inside …

They were watching a horror movie- all and all, this was pretty boring so far … or- maybe it was fine. Nothing big needed to start happening. 

When he got close enough, Luke looked up, coughing. He really wasn’t enjoying whatever they were smoking. He started coming towards Clive, coughing up smoke as he started trying to leave the room. “Let’s go find something to drink!” He said, pulling Clive out of the room by his arm. Clive smiled for what felt like the first time that day, and walked out with him.

Luke started walking down the halls, opening random doors and closing them, filling the hallway with light and then engulfing it in darkness. Clive started to look around on his own a little, but during the brief moments where there was light. Clive could see someone standing in the corner of the hallway. It looked like a girl, she was holding her phone up, but the screen wasn’t on. Clive was just staring at her … and then it flashed. Like a camera. 

He blinked, and when he opened his eyes again, Luke was going into one of the doors. Clive walked over to him, keeping his eye on the shadow in the corner. When he reached for the doorknob, it moved, coming into the light, shutting the door before he could go through. 

It was Celeste, the girl with red hair that Clive literally never talked to. 

“You never listen to me-” she said, holding up her phone, “I told you to leave …” 

“ … it was you?” He asked, honestly, he was disappointed. He thought it’d be someone he knew, well, he did know her but- He never saw her around. She moved his hand away from the door, and reached past him. He flinched, before stopping as his own knife was pressed to his forehead … 

“That’s so cool, how’d you do that?” he asked, and she shook her head. “Move-” she said, and he put his hands up in defense. “A-alright- can I have that back?” 

“No, You don’t need it-” 

“Uh- I’m pretty sure I do-” 

“Just- walk-” She said. “I told you to leave, you can’t run from me- I’m not an app or something- you’re not gonna just shut me out-” She said, walking behind Clive, who hummed. “Yeah, something like this  _ would _ happen today.” he said, “My mom comes to school, and I get attacked by my stalker- just a day in the life-” he mumbled. 

“I’m not going to hurt you …” 

“That’s what everyone says before they hurt you-” 

“Shut … up-” she said, and he did. They made their way to the stairs, and went down the building, all the way down. With each step, Clive could hear her typing, and he could feel the knife poking into his back. 

… He should be scared, but for some reason, he just wasn’t. Once they got to the bottom floor, and they stepped outside, Clive realized that there was nobody out here …

Nobody but her, and her knife. Clive turned, and managed to move out of the way from getting stabbed. 

Oh- Oh no- 

“W-wait! Fuck-” he hissed, moving further and further back. She was really trying, panting as she started to get tired, swinging the blade around the air. It cut through his sleeve at one point, Just barely scraping his arm. His heart was speeding in his chest, he needed to do something, he was getting lucky with the dodges, but- she came too close. He managed to grab her wrist as the blade came towards his stomach. But- he was stuck between her and the stupid fence. He could see the pool on the other side. He shoved his back through the gate, and the rusty lock snapped open. They both fell, and Clive winced as his chest was just poked with the knife.

She dropped it, and it slid across the ground. He reached for it, but she moved up, sitting on him, keeping him pinned to the ground as she reached past him. 

He pushed at her with his other arm, but she was strong. He tried to sit up, but he couldn’t move, and for a second, he started to cry at the thought that he might be about to get stabbed to death. He’d never been more happy to see Luke. 

Luke came running as fast as he could, screaming something at the top of his lungs as he shoved himself into Celeste, pushing her in the pool. 

He started cursing, and every time she’d try to get out, he pushed her back in. Clive just let his heart beat … he could barely breathe. When he looked up, he could see up Luke’s skirt, but he could also see that he was threatening to stab her hands as she held onto the side of the pool. Coughing up water. 

“I can’t swim!” she yelled, “stop! I’m sorry!” She said. Luke didn’t hough, pushing her away, his hand on her face, it was almost like he was trying to drown her. Clive … sat up, and looked down at his bleeding arm, and his now ruined blazer … 

To think if she had just cut a little closer. 

He walked over to Luke, and Celeste looked up. She gripped Luke by his hair, and shoved him into the pool. Clive only had to kick the knife out of the way, and it was over as fast as it started. 

Luke popped back up, and Clive just stood there, watching them both fight … he picked up his knife, and said nothing, thought nothing. He could see another figure coming up. 

Brenda was rushing to the scene, confused by the sight of Luke holding some girl’s head underwater. She looked at Clive, who looked away. 

“What happened?!” 

“ …” 

“Answer me!” She yelled, and Clive shook his head. “It was nothing-” 

“It doesn’t look like nothing! Why do you have a knife?” she said, going over to Luke. She pulled him up from the pool, and Luke squirmed. 

“Luke! Stop that!” She yelled, and Clive just watched as Luke slowly started to calm down. 

“ this is unacceptable! What kind of school is this?!” 

“ …” Clive watched as Brenda walked off with Luke under her arms, and Luke finally seemed to get it. “M-mom?” He asked, and she nodded, peeling the mole off her face. 

Luke gasped, “Mom!” he said. “Wh- were you trying to party again? Dad’s gonna be mad at you!” 

“I Don’t care-! That’s not important!” She said. “ You’ve been going to a school like this and you didn’t tell me anything? What else goes on around here?” She said. Luke looked at Clive, who was just following behind them. He was looking behind, watching Celeste cough up water. 

“Don’t look at him! Look at me!” She said, and Luke turned. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Clive watched Luke as he watched his mom sleep … Her whole lecture last night was just, nothing. She still ended up getting blackout drunk. Clive woke up that morning with hair in his mouth. And he wondered … 

Maybe this was just her response to being ignored by Clark. Something something something, “our wife.”

He was just tired at this point, Luke did the same thing, both of them, drunkies … 

And so did he, all three of them, alcoholics. Luke looked over at Clive, “Do you think she’ll stay for long?” He asked, and Clive shook his head. “She’ll probably leave by today, Clark is gonna notice she’s gone …” He said. The two were sitting at their table, Clive drinking an energy drink from his fridge, and Luke drinking hot chocolate because Coffee is gross. 

Clive had his phone on the table … he hadn’t gotten a text from Celeste all day. He saw her drop her phone in the pool, but he had a feeling that wasn’t the last he would see of her. 

Suddenly, she moved, she rolled over, and sat up … and Clive squinted at her face, the mole was back. 

“ .. hm?” She looked over at Luke, who smiled, “Good morning!” He said, and Clive just … died inside. 

“Please take that dot off your face-” 

“ huh?” she looked down, reaching up to her face, peeling the mole off. “ Clive and I were about to take a bath, you wanna come too?” Luke asked, and Clive … was quiet. 

Brenda hummed, “Sure- I could use a bath …” she said. 

And Clive was quiet, sipping his monster, ‘ _ dont fuck this up dove _ ’

“ but I don’t have any clothes-” She said, “I guess I’ll just have to head home for now-” 

“ …” Clive internally began punching the air.

“ It’s okay! I’ll wash yours while you’re in the bath!” 

“Aw- you’re so sweet-” 

“ … Clive I’m joking-” Luke said, and Clive nodded, “I knew that- “ he said.


	32. January

Celeste sat on her yoga mat, aggressively filing her nails down, staring at the blue paint as she breathed. The gym uniform, a pair of much too tight shorts and a white shirt, it was suffocating, annoying, the only thing she was allowed to customize were her socks, seriously? Socks? She stopped scratching at her nails, glaring at them … they weren't sharp enough. 

Sharper, sharper, sharper. Sharper! … Dahlia just stared at her, having never seen her so worked up. She was usually so calm, so cool and collected, but today she was just … fuming. Dahlia wondered if maybe it had something to do with last night's party, she had been a little drunk, maybe something happened to her? She looked at Flora, and Flora seemed to be thinking up her own theory as to why she'd suddenly started grinding her own fingers off. Neither of them knew what was up, but they didn’t think they wanted to know. “ … I think-” Aurora said, shuffling over to her. "You might be a little stressed, is everything okay?" She put a hand on her shoulder, and Celeste looked up, nearly stabbing Aurora with her gaze. Aurora flinched … but she wrapped her arms around her shoulder, refusing to back down, “It’s okay …” she said, and Celeste looked at her, receiving a warm hug.

She just sat there … Aurora had a way of melting her, and she sighed ...

“ _ The lesson is canceled today, I just- Don’t feel like it. _ ” She said, and Aurora tried to smile for her, “Do you wanna go somewhere and talk? Maybe you'll feel better if you get it out-” She asked, “I’m here for you-  **right everyone?** _ ”  _ She asked, looking at the others. Dahlia and Flora both nodded, Flora giving her best reassuring words. “Whatever it is, it’ll be fine! We’ll help you through it-” 

“Y-yeah …” Dahlia said, looking around the gym for an escape. Celeste stood, “ I’m  _ fine god damn it! _ ” She snapped, “ Just let me take care of my own fucking business- I’ll see you all later-” She said, walking off … 

Flora watched her leave … she was so scary sometimes, none of them expected a sudden outburst. Dahlia watched her turn the corner into the locker room … and turned to Aurora, who just sat there, more blank than usual. She looked down … and hummed.

“ … I try so hard- but I can never cheer her up-” Aurora mumbled, and Flora shook her head, “it’s not you, it’s something else … I’ll go see what’s happening-” 

“I don’t know, She seems pretty upset-” Dahlia mumbled, taking Flora’s hand in her own, “you should just let her cool off- I think Aurora should go, She's the closest to her-" She quickly suggested, clearly trying to leave the situation. 

Aurora looked up, a sudden rush of determination coming to her … and she nodded, getting up on her feet. She stepped over the two, walking past them, going towards the locker room. She turned her head, seeing Emmy in the darker corner of the gym, standing over Dez … she squinted … before looking away, pretending like she didn't see anything.

There was something so weird about this school, it was like people came here and forgot how to act. She opened the locker room door, seeing Celeste in the corner of the gym. She turned her head, her eyes meeting with Aurora’s … before she turned back to the wall. She was just staring, putting her clothes on slowly, her face extremely close to it as she mumbled, “Go away … We have ten minutes before gym ends.” She said, unlike her usual upbeat tone. She buttoned her shirt up, and Aurora just stared at her, unsure of what to say. “ well … I know, but- I don’t care about that- I just wanted to make sure you were okay …”

“I want these ten minutes …” Celeste said, “ leave …” 

“...” Aurora got closer, shuffling over to her, “Why are you just staring at the wall?” 

“ _ All I’m asking for is ten minutes. Can’t you leave me alone for ten fucking minutes? _ ” Celeste said, pulling away from the wall … 

Aurora huffed, “I get it, this is how you deal with stress, but …” 

Celeste moved, putting a hand on Aurora’s face. She pulled her face closer, squeezing her cheeks, “ You just don’t listen …” She said, kissing her forehead. “I’m alright … I just wanna be alone, Okay? I’m gonna go to class, don’t follow me-” she said. She was fully dressed by now, putting her shoes on as she left the gym with her bag on her shoulder. 

Aurora watched her leave … and listened to the door as it slammed. She was so upset, but for what? She looked over at the wall, seeing a little hole in it … Celeste left her camera here, so of course Aurora picked it up and started going through it. She turned it on, and began flipping through pictures of … 

Dicks? 

What? Why-? gross … Aurora squinted, dick .. dick … hair? 

Belly button, abs, chest, neck, face- He was asleep …

Aurora looked up, and turned, seeing Celeste was still there …

It was quiet, Celeste didn’t say anything. She just reached out, grabbing the camera, staring Aurora in the eyes. “ … What did you see?” She asked, and Aurora … shook her head, “I won’t say anything ...” 

“I know you won’t ..” 

“ …” 

Celeste dropped her bag, and Aurora moved back, being pressed up against the locker. “ … i-" she said, already more afraid than she should he. "You're my best friend … so i'm trusting you to keep your mouth shut-" Celeste moved away, and picked her bag up, walking back out of the locker room. She gave Aurora an up and down glance before she left, shutting the door more carefully that time. 

The other just stood there, staring out into space before she slowly slid down, trying to process what she’d seen. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Celeste clicked her pen, standing outside her class, still wearing her cheer uniform. Flora was there, still extremely hyper from being thrown around during practice. She was doing a little made up dance, singing a version of their routine’s song as she waited for the next class to start. 

“You’re so crabby all of a sudden- is that why your hair’s red?” 

Celeste looked up … and snorted, “shut up.” she said, getting an innocent smile from Flora. “Really- what’s wrong?” 

“ …” Celeste looked down at Flora, and hummed …

“Don’t you think it’s weird how obsessed people are with things like sex- and relationships? It’s weird isn’t it? We’re all basically still kids-” She said, “Most of us still do everything our parents say, but we’re here acting like this is all life is- and we’ve gotta be the biggest, and the best, the prettiest, the most popular- it’s weird …” She said. 

Flora … shrugged, “I just like to dance-” She admitted, that was the only reason she wanted to go to this school, they had all the best routines. 

“Hm … but anyways-” she said, pushing her hair out of her face, “Sometimes it just gets to be too much, and I get tired of feeling like i’m in the shadow of everyone. I try to be helpful but it backfires, all because … Because nobody ever bothers to talk to me-” she said.

“Well, Anton likes you-”

“Yeah, and that’s the best I can do? Ew-” She mumbled, before feeling a hand on her arm. She turned, looking down at a girl with purple hair … 

“He’s not that bad …” Sophia said, and Celeste dropped her pen. She stood there, in her regular school uniform, though it looked tighter on her now. She had her hair pulled back into a single braid, and what looked like a new bag.

“Damn! Back from the dead!” She said, a happy grin on her face as she wrapped her arms around the missing girl.“Oh my god did you get shorter?! You’re so tiny! I missed you so much-” She said, and Sophia whined, “D-don’t squeeze me-!” She said, gently hugging Celeste back. 

The two let go of eachother, and Flora smiled at them, happy to see Celeste suddenly look better. 

“You had your baby? Where is it?” 

“Home … I wanted to come back to school- I feel fine and- I know people were talking about me behind my back so I at least want a chance to get the story straight-” She said. Celeste shook her head, “Nobody has! Everyone just feels super bad for you!” She said, “All anyone ever says is that it’s all so messed up, I really thought you were never coming back …” She held onto her hands, and Sophia looked up at her …

“Well … nice to know everyone pities me- I guess that’s better than the alternative-” 

“Hm? Oh- well I wasn’t gonna let anything like that spread … but how have you been? Are you gonna start cheering again?” 

“... s-should I? I mean- I gained so much weight-”

“So? Guys like that kind of thing- the freaks will definitely be happy to see you-" 

“You think so?”

“Yeah-!” 

Flora walked over, “Plus, you only really gained weight in all the good places, you’re curvier now-” She said, and Sophia turned red, “ you’re both just trying to embarrass me or something-” She said, picking Flora up. “You seem like you got smaller too- You’re still so light-!” She tossed her up a little, hugging her like a doll. 

“I actually gained weight too! In muscle!” Flora proudly stated, flexing her arm. She was set down, but she continued to strike poses, forever in a good mood. 

She started to say something, before she looked down the hallway, seeing Aurora coming towards them. She was running, and Flora squinted … 

“Celeste!” Aurora said, making Sophia turn. She seemed happy to see her, before seeing Aurora trip, and fall, sliding across the floor …

“A-are you okay?” She asked, walking over to her, holding her hands out. Aurora looked up, staring Celeste in the eyes, “I wanna help you!” She said, fully in tears. “Whatever it is, I wanna help- I’ll do anything!” She said. Celeste … just sighed, “um- we need a minute-” She said, letting Aurora get herself up. 

“Oh- a-alright-” Sophia said, watching as Celeste got Aurora up, walking away with her. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Sophia stared at Anton’s room … it was surprisingly clean. It was clean on the surface, at least ..as she was putting her stuff back in the drawers, she could see the trash under his bed, stuffed in the cracks and crevasses of his room. She didn't get why this just so happened to be the only room left, but … it was kind of lucky. She looked over at him, he was … trying to apologize? At least, she thought so, but she was mostly ignoring it until now.

“ I know I shouldn’t have said or done any of that and I’m happy you’re back- i really,  _ really-  _ don’t want you to leave again-” He said, and she turned, looking at her clothes as he continued to ramble. Always so well enunciated, he should win a public speaking award, honestly. He was so good at talking she almost didn't want him to shut up and go somewhere else … almost.

“I won’t …” She said, “If you promise you’ll start listening to me-” she added, closing her drawer. His response was so quick, she doubted it was genuine.

“Of course!” 

“Good … then you have nothing to worry about-” She said. “I’m still mad but- I’ll get over it … b-but I want the fighting to stop!” She said, crossing his arms, “It’s just- messed up, alright? You should be more mature than all of this ..”

“ I … will-” He said, all of his little anxious habits coming out. 

She wondered if he was just saying that, probably, right?“ … So- Guess what?” She asked, walking over to him. He looked at her, tensing a little when she grabbed his hands. “The baby isn’t yours!” She said, happily.

"That means you won't be stuck with any 'brats' as you said, and you can keep doing whatever it is you do- isn't that great? And even better, the baby has a nice home so you don't have to worry about it at all!"

“ … h- …” He stared down at her, and she looked at him- 

"What's wrong? You look upset- you mean after all of that you're not happy?" She said in a flat tone.

“No … you're serious?” He said, and she shook her head, “it’s not yours-” She repeated. 

“ …” He let go, and she watched him as he sat down on his own bed … He really looked like he was going to die, but she couldn’t just … not tell him something like that. Better to admit it now, that’s what she thought at least. She stepped back a little, and he sighed, 

“I wanna choke you so bad right now-” 

“I appreciate your honesty …”

“ … It’s- his- isn’t it?” 

“ … yeah …” She said, and he nodded … 

They sat there in silence for a second, and then he lifted his head, sighing. “ … It- it doesn’t matter …” He said, and she hummed, “I expected a worse reaction-” 

“ I … I just- I’m thinking about it like- well, I wanted it to happen anyways so … why should it matter- if it’s my blood or not-” He said. She smiled, “so- you still wanna stay together? And all the terrible things you said, you take it back?"

“... Sophia- I'm-  _ sorry  _ … I didn't mean any of it …"

"You're what?"

"I'm sorry-"

"Huh?"

"I'm sorry! I'll say it a million times if i have to- i'm sorry-" he said, and she walked over, sitting down next to him. "I forgive you …" she said, "i'm sorry too … we're always apologizing to each other- how about we both just promise to be better?" She said, holding up her pinkie.

“Pff-” He snorted, "you're still so cute- you make it hard to promise you anything-" he said, locking his little finger with hers. It was worth it to see the smile on her face, a genuine look of happiness, just because she got a little respect, “But no more, alright? It took a lot for me to decide to come back …” She said, leaning against him. “Well … I’m out of stuff to say, How have you been?” She asked, and he shrugged. “The same, but worse- I got a pimple the other day- on my face! It was right here- can you believe that?!” He said, as if it was some cryptid coming for him. “ I was really just waiting for either the courage to talk to you or for you to come back … I forgot school existed for a while-” 

“ … You know, technically I already graduated- I just have to take my finals here so I- … well, I figured … why not come back?” 

“I’m happy you did-” he said, "I was so close to leaving-"

“I bet you were about to jump off a bridge without me"

"I considered it, honestly-" 

"Anton!"

"Joking~! I'm joking! I'd never-" he said. 

She hummed … "so how do I look?" She asked, feeling him turn a little. Was he actually looking?

"You gained weight …  _ i like it- _ your body has this nice shape to it now- not to say it wasn't nice before!" He said, and she huffed. 

" you're being too nice- it's getting weird-" 

" Well then you look disgusting, is that better?"

"Your pimple came back-"

" So did your unibrow-"

"Well that's why you've got wrinkles on your forehead!"

"Stretch marks-"

"That's your fault!"

"No it's not-"

"I … damn it-" she smiled, "you can win this time but next time-! You better be prepared-" She threatened, and he sighed …

"Did it actually come back?" He asked, feeling his face.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Celeste stared at the inside of the locker, His locker. She’d come here late at night to make sure nobody would see her doing this, her trusty witch at her side with just the right magic touch to open the metal compartment.

"How did you open this?" She asked Aurora, who looked away, "we hung out for a little while- I used to keep some of my stuff in his locker- i didn't tell him though- he just- never opens it cause it's always filled with confession letters …" she said. She seemed so guilty, standing there with her hands behind her back.

Celeste pulled out the old textbook … and brought it to her face, smelling it. 

"It's really his locker … it all smells like- cigarettes- kind of like sweet alcohol- like vanilla- and candy … it's like he's just a kid- but he's older- I can't breathe-" she whispered sticking her face in the locker. 

Aurora just watched her … wondering what she was doing. She never thought any of this was going on, of all the people at school, Celeste seemed so normal. Just another random vegan girl that does yoga and works out, A cheerleader, regular stuff ...

" … look at the way he writes his name- his handwriting is terrible- it's the same since elementary school-" 

"You knew him back then?"

"... Yeah-" Celeste said, "I know so much- i was shocked to find out he still gets weak when he's scared …" she exhaled shakily, and Aurora nodded. "I found out on my own … s-so- do you- like him or - uh-" she mumbled, watching as Celeste took a pencil from his locker. 

" … i don't know- i don't think so. I … I love you-" she said, looking over at Aurora. "Whenever I look at you my chest feels tight- and i feel anxious- I feel like i'm gonna be sick but I don't want it to stop- i'm not sure … if that's how it's supposed to be-" She said, looking down, "I matured way before I could ever figure it out and i've always just had people tell me how I feel-" she clenched her fists. “But if I had to pick someone to be with, I’d pick you-”

" …" Aurora stepped forward, and put her arms around Celeste … "then- let's go home? And- you don't have to do any of this-" She said, being pushed away. Her back hit the opposite lockers with a loud crash, but she wasn’t hurt. She was a little scared though. 

"I'm not doing this because I love him … I'm not sure why i'm doing it … all I know is that- well- i'm-" she sighed, " i just- … when I look at you i feel good- when I look at him i just get confused-" she said. " And I've never felt anything like that before …"

The dim hallway was quiet, being here in the middle of the night turned out to make things a little … creepy. The minimal light that came through the windows only allowed Aurora to see the side of Celeste’s face. And then nothing at all when she turned her head.

“I don’t get it then- what do you want?” Aurora asked, her voice trembling a little as she came to the realization this might be a little more messed up than she thought. 

“ ... I- want … I don’t know.” She trailed off into her thoughts, “Just … Help me put these in here-” 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Brenda watched with caution as a bunch of pictures came falling out of Clive’s locker. One by one they began to flood out in a massive sea of paper, hitting the floor in the middle of the busy hallway. Luke just stared at the mess. Picture after picture of naked girls, guys, Luke couldn’t do anything but stare at them … and wonder … A couple of other people stopped and stared too, before realizing what was there. 

“ … C-Clive-” Luke said, taking a step back from it all. 

“ _ Luke I clearly didn’t do this-! _ ”

“Liar!” One girl screeched, scrambling to pick up what was probably a picture of herself. A couple more rushed over, and Clive moved out of their way, unable to even process the thought of someone taking all these pictures.

Dez hummed … He picked one of the pictures up, and nodded ... “I believe you-” He said, turning it over, “Clive doesn’t like body hair- and why would he go through the trouble of printing them out when he can barely bother to clean up behind himself?” he said. Brenda turned red, “that- poor girl-” She said, looking away. Clive put a hand over his face, embarrassed beyond belief. A couple of people were taking pictures, the surrounding girls were screaming as they scrambled to pick up the pictures of themselves before anyone could see. Luke just stared at the pile … before getting down, shakily pulling out one of himself …

He looked at Clive, tears in his eyes, “C-Clive wouldn’t do something like this to me” He said, “He didn’t do this- it was one of the girls in the locker room- on the cheer team- they’re the only ones who could have taken such a close picture-” He said, wiping his eyes. Clive couldn’t help but get angry, someone just HAD to drag Luke into this- 

Brenda nodded, “ Luke I think it’s time for you to transfer schools.” She said, “and I’ll go take care of this myself. I want you to pack your stuff.” 

“ b-but-”

“No.” She said, and Clive watched her leave … 

Luke was a sobbing mess, Clive’s reputation, which was already low, was now  _ g o n e. _ And Dez was just, trying to leave before he somehow got mixed up into it too. 

Luke stood, “ Clive-” He said, shoving all of the pictures into Clive’s hands. “Your lighter!” 

“ … a-ah-” Clive mumbled, before shuffling past everyone, He shoved the pictures into his pockets, and Luke followed him out. 

Once they got outside, Luke just started to rant. Clive listened as he cried that he was going to get transferred away, and then they’d have to break up, and they’d never see eachother again. Clive knew it wasn’t true, and that whatever school Luke went to, Clive could go there too, but just the thought of leaving everything behind …

Actually, it sounded nice. No more Alfendi, no more girls trying to molest him every chance they got. No creepy blonde guys or scary redheads. No more anything, just school. 

Luke didn’t seem to want to. He liked being a cheerleader, He liked all the friends he’d made. He liked being around them, He liked the parties, the alcohol, the freedom. It was nothing like middle school, which felt like jail. Luke cried, he could barely even put into words how free he felt here, even though bad things were constantly happening. 

The two walked behind the restaurant where Clive usually went to smoke, and Clive tossed all the pictures in the dumpster, ripping them up as he did so. Luke held onto him, crying, “I don’t wanna leave!” He yelled, but Clive could barely respond. 

This was all happening so fast, the best he could do was … put his hand on Luke’s head, like he was some sort of big brother, and tell him it’d be fine. He didn’t know how true that was, it probably wasn’t true at all, but … it was all he could do. 

He put his hand through Luke’s hair, “Listen, Lukey- Wherever you go I’ll be there- It’s easy for me to transfer schools, I’m pretty much in charge of myself…” he said, and Luke sniffled … he looked up. “ …” Clive decided to continue, kneeling down, “Even if we leave our friends, we’ll always be together, and who knows? Maybe they’ll even come with us-” Clive said.

“I just know it doesn’t matter what happens, you don’t have to be afraid of losing me, okay? Or Dez, or any of your other friends. Real friends stick around-” He said, and Luke … nodded. He wiped his face. “You sounded like my dad just then-” he said, and Clive sighed, “that old man-” He stood. “He’s such a hypocrite, One moment it’s  _ Respect their privacy! _ Then the next moment he’s watching you bathe or something-”

“Oh ewww don’t say that!” Luke said, shoving him. Clive snorted, “Really though- the only thing we have in common is how much we love you-”

“Clive you’re so gross!”

“I know-” He said, “But …seriously, Does he ever give advice like that? Cause the only thing he told me was that he’d kill me-” 

“Ah … um- Sometimes … I know he’s weird but it’s really not like that-  _ i hope _ \- it’s just that- he was kind of like you- no parents- he found my mom and that was all the family he had so we’re really important to him …” 

“ … mm-” Clive looked down, “ I wouldn’t have ever guessed …” He said. Luke kicked a rock .. and wiped a few tears from his face. 

Clive looked up, “I feel like killing someone-” He quietly said, watching as Luke leaned up against the wall. 

“Do you think she’s really going to have me transferred?” 

“I don’t know-” Clive shrugged, "I just hope she doesn't beat someone up, she seemed so mad-"

“yeah ... and you’ll really come with me?” 

“You don’t even have to ask-” Clive said. The sooner he got out of here the better. 


	33. Futile

Desmond sat still … the weekends, they were usually the time he would go and spend with Clive, but- since that train was slowly dying, he decided to try hanging out with Emmy. Because being choked during the normal times of the week weren’t enough for him, no, his eternal pain boner demanded more fuel.

Which led him to her house, where apparently she went home every day, refusing to live on campus after Dahlia’s Hazing incident left her mentally scarred. He was currently on the couch, watching a movie … as her uncle, a man named Leon, who sat on the adjacent couch in a pair of dark shades, stared at him. The living room was modern, white couches, flat screen Tv, Sunflowers in a million vases all over the place. It had nice tan brick walls and a digital fireplace in the corner, He sighed- Rich girls.

But other than that, there was also Emmy, who kept bringing back cups of tea to Leon. She’d been doing this for well over two hours now, and Desmond had no fucking idea what to say about it. She would come in, set a cup of tea down. He’d pick it up, without even looking at her, and say something along the lines of, “It’s sour, Not enough milk, too much water” and then tell her to make it again … and then ten or fifteen minutes later, she would come back with another cup of tea, and he'd taste it, so on, so forth.

“S-so-” Desmond mumbled, wondering what he should say at this point. Leon peered at him through the top of his shades, tilting his head down to show his eyes as Dez looked away. "How's- it going?" He quietly asked. He wasn't usually this awkward, why's this guy staring at him?

“ Who are you exactly?” Leon asked, in a sort of confident tone.

“I’m … Emmy’s friend-” Dez said, “from school-” 

“Really? What grade are you in?”

“I’m a senior-”

“Ah … I didn't know she got along with people older than her-" Leon said, and Dez shrugged, "We're not that far apart .. right?" He asked, and Leon grinned.

"Are you two dating?” he said, completely ignoring the question.

Dez contemplated the answer for a second, before looking away, “No? We’re just friends-” He said.

“oh- okay then.."

“ … you sound disappointed-” 

“I am, admittedly, it would have been a relief .."

“Well that's a first- How come?”

Leon sighed, starting to say something before Emmy came back with another cup of tea. “This one shouldn’t have anything wrong with it.” She sternly said, gently setting it down on the small table next to him. He looked at it … and picked it up, taking a single sip of it. Just a small sip, he probably couldn’t even taste it. 

“... this is the worst one so far-” He said, and Dez stared in Awe as Emmy picked the cup up, and walked off. Without knocking his teeth out of his mouth.

“So-” Leon continued, “I say it’s a disappointment because I was hoping that if she got into that school she’d find someone, and they’d take her off my hands finally. I heard you boys there could be real trouble, but no matter what she just doesn't seem to like anyone. No friends, no boyfriend, hell, not even a girlfriend. I'd be fine with anyone, just as long as it gave her a reason to spend more time away from home." 

“..” Dez looked down for a second, the gears in his head turning around and around with no kind of end in mind. He redirected his gaze towards Leon, “Sorry, Can I ask? what’s going on with this tea thing?” He said, “It’s just- I have never seen her that calm- I-is it just because you’re her uncle or is this-”

“Anger management.” Leon said. “That’s all-” 

“oh- ohhhh- Okay- That makes way more sense than what I was thinking-” 

“And just what were you thinking?”

“ … Soooo You’re trying to get rid of her? Why?” 

Leon sat up, “what do you think? I’m old, she’s going to put me in the hospital if she keeps having these outbursts, better you than me-” He said. 

Dez nodded … "wait- what?"

"You heard me, son, I can't keep up with her anymore. But it's not like I can just drop her off somewhere … child endangerment those suited fucks-" He mumbled.

Dez nodded, this guy was completely insane. "Isn't that a little cruel?" 

“No.”

Emmy came back, her hand was shaking, she set the cup down, and Dez just watched …

“... Emmeline-”

“Yeah?”

“It’s perfect-”

“... ugh-” Emmy sighed, sitting down on the couch. “Why’d you have to say my name like that? I thought you were gonna make me do it again-” She said, Pissed, but tired. 

“Emmy, this boy here said something about being your boyfriend-”

“W- I didn’t!”

“Don’t be shy, uh- Desmond? Is it?”

“I-” Dez flinched, Emmy’s hand pushing his face away. “He says that aaaallllll the time- Every single day, it’s always, Emmy, my beautiful Bride- Emmy, my love! My life! Marry mee!” 

“Oh?” Leon said, looking over at Desmond, who looked away. “That’s nice, you don’t like him back?”

“He’s creepy- most of the time I just pretend like he’s not there- the only thing he's good for is being a punching bag, or running my errands-” She said. Dez could feel his soul leaving his body, why? He wished Clive was here to say something, but- he wouldn’t want them to fight … “ah, but he’s dedicated- and doesn’t give up easily-” Leon said.

“Yeah, like a rapist, you know?” Emmy shrugged.

“I … well-” Leon scratched at his beard. "I wouldn't compare him to .. that- but-"

"But that's what he's like! Follows me around- always touching me- i tell him to stop and he won't- like a rapist!"

"Well …" Leon sipped his tea, " didn't you invite him over?"

"No- he followed me here- like a -"

"P-please stop calling me that- after I asked to hang out- you told me if I didn't come you'd stab me!" Dez said, and she crossed her arms. "And I'll stab you if you don't be quiet."

"E-emmy-" Dez whined, "You don't really think i'm like that right?"

“He has this creepy sword collection, and he thinks I don’t know, but every once in a while he puts on a blonde wig and pretends to be this girl named an-”

“AAAA HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT-” Dez yelled, trying to keep her from finishing that sentence. 

Emmy sat up, “I saw you! You creep! I bet you were the one taking those pictures!"

“I-it’s not like that!”

“Yes it is!”

“It’s not! It’s just- personal- How can you call me creepy when you’re watching me like that?” He said, and she huffed, “You’re the one putting stuff in my bag when im not looking- every day I have to dump out all your creepy love letters and apology notes- all you ever do is follow me around and beg for a date-!! if you want me to like you then stop being so weird and back up sometimes!” 

“ …” Dez sighed, “So then should I just leave?” He asked, and She hummed …

“I didn’t say that …” She crossed her arms, and he smiled, “You’re so cute-”

“Get out! Go get me something to drink or something!”

“Okaay~” Dez got up, “I’ll be back so don’t lock me out- please-” 

“Yeah yeah! Go! Leave!” Emmy yelled, and Dez opened the door, leaving feeling way happier than when he got there. 

…

Dez walked down the aisle, his phone up to his ear as he looked for something Emmy would like. He didn’t ask, but he wanted to try and figure it out without asking. For … fun. 

“And then she just kept calling me creepy, but a lot less than usual-” Dez said. 

You’ve got problems

“Yeah-” He mumbled, listening to Clive tell Luke something from the other side of the phone. “So- what happened? Are you two transferring?” He asked, and Clive groaned. 

No- L i n d a got drunk and apparently had a real good time so she doesn’t wanna leave, but Luke can’t be a cheerleader anymore so he’s been stuck to me all day, I’m like- covered in tears man-

“Oh … damn it- no more cheerleader Luke-?”

I know- he’s really upset about it, i feel bad for him but I don’t know what to do. He just wants to cuddle and eat ice cream so that’s what we’ve been doing all day … but now they need a replacement, and I think it'd be funny to get Emmy to join- 

Dez picked up a bottle of snapple … she probably wouldn’t like it, right? He’d never seen her drink one, in fact, what DID she drink? The tears of small unsuspecting boys, uh- water? He remembered her saying she hated soda, or anything carbonated. “I think you’re doing the best thing, just being there for him … and- you're a goddamn genius Clive!” Dez walked down the aisles. 

Yea- He went to the bathroom a second ago and he hasn’t come out yet. And I just know you'd think of it eventually. Imagine Dahlia's face- it's the second semester so there's still time for her to learn the routine and go to tryouts and everything-

“Is he okay?”

He’s taking a bath, I think? he takes long baths …

“Ah- so- where’s Linda-”

Busy- She and Celeste had this huge- fight? If you could call it that- it was just a lot of yelling, threats, crying … hair pulling- kinda hot- 

“Just don’t let Luke hear that-”

Oh- I just tell Luke everything now, He doesn’t ever call me weird for it so I don’t feel bad talking to him about that stuff anymore, it’s been nice- actually- like I have someone just as messed up as I am

“Luke is messed up like that?”

Luke is a massive pervert-

“Oh … huh- he seems so innocent-” Dez picked up a bottle of orange juice, and looked it over. “But- off Topic- I guess, Emmy’s uncle is weird.”

Creepy uncle weird or creepy uncle weird?

“He’s- sort of- i would sell her kind or weird-”

Seriously? He doesn't care? Wow- you got lucky with the only girl in school who doesn't have overprotective parents and she doesn't even like you!

Clive laughed, and Dez rolled his eyes, “somnophile-” 

What?

“Nothing- she does like me- she's just weird about it- but I like that-” Dez looked around the store. “but anyways- He just kept making her make tea, to piss her off, It was so weird but she was so calm the whole time-” Dez said, and Clive said something, before there was a loud slam, and Luke’s yelling filled Dez’s ears. 

Lukey it’s okay! We’ll get more!

“What happened?”

He ran out of ice cream, I might have to call you back- plus- I've got a thing to go to-

"It's alright- I'll see you later-" Dez said, "And don't forget to brush your teeth! If you don't you'll have white spots when they take your braces off! And if your back hurts then-"

My back is fiiine moooooom goddddd it hasn't hurt for like a monnnnth and i'll brush my teeth and whatever- alriiiiight?

Dez smiled, " right …" he stared down at the bottle, his heart sort of- hurt. "Wait- don't hang up yet-! I heard you were hanging out with Alfendi again …”

… no- I just ...- I overreacted one day, and- It just- I mean … it’s- complicated-

“Ah .. he didn’t try anything- right?”

Well we got reaaaal high and he stole my ring but that’s just what he does- I came back for it- blacked his eye out- that’s all ..

“I- I see .. well- be careful man, you know how-” 

I can take care of myself-! Gosh mom!

“Yeah, Luke does a really good job making sure of that-”

Ugh-!!

Clive hung up, and Luke pulled at his arm. The two of them were in their studio apartment-like dorm, Clive was just wearing whatever shirt he found on the floor, and Luke was dragging a blanket around. 

“You have to tell her it’s okay now! I like being a cheerleader!” Luke yelled, “You’re supposed to help me with this stuff! You said you’d do anythiinggg!” He sobbed, and Clive… sighed. He picked Luke up, and set him back down on the bed, wrapping him up in the bigger blanket. “Yeah …”

“What does yeah mean?!”

“It means Yeah … I did say that- but- you know what would be even better than that?”

“What …” Luke mumbled, closing his eyes as Clive wiped away his tears. “Why don’t you just get her to join? I have no idea why she’s here in the first place but think about it- if she has fun then she’s not gonna wanna leave that either-” 

“And then I can join …” Luke mumbled, sniffling. Clive kissed his cheek, “Yea- exactly- so stop crying, it’ll be alright-” 

“ … you’re not just saying all of this for some other weird reason- are you?”

“Like what?”

“You know what-”

“Luke we’ve all been sleeping in the same bed- you really think i’m not over it all by now?”

“W-well- … i guess- you need to sleep on the floor”

“You sleep on the damn floor- your bed’s huge- plus you always get as close as you can to me so it’s not like we all take up that much space- it’s fine-” 

“... you’re weirdly comfortable with all of this!!”

“Well would you rather I be weird about it or I be normal?!” 

“I don’t know! You being normal is weird!”

“Fine then- I’m asking because I want to be alone after school so I can jerk off on your uniform- are you happy? Does that make you feel better?”

“... is that really why?”

“Luke- no-”

“Wha? Why not?!”

“What do you mean why not?!”

“I mean why not?! Do you like someone else now?!” 

“I- what are you talking about?” Clive sighed, and Luke sat up. “You’re not being as weird as you usually do!” he exclaimed, “You don’t say anything and you barely respond to me touching you and you don’t even look at my legs with that weird face anymore!”

“Luke-”

“And even at night you still used to put your hand under my shirt when I went to sleep and just hold onto me! But you won’t even put your arm around me- you’re being so weird now!”

“I- I’m weird because I’m not acting like a caveman anymore?”

“Yes!”

“... did you ever think that maybe i’m not like that all the time and maybe- just maybe- i’m actually normal sometimes?” 

“You’re not! Tell me the truth! Is there something wrong?”

“Ugh. Look- I’m just focused on something else-”

“What?”

“Can’t tell you-” Clive said, giving Luke a gentle pat on the head, “But I promise I still love you- I’m not thinking about anyone else- and you don’t need to worry about that because i would never- ever- ever hurt you like that-” He said, cupping Luke’s face. Luke stared up at him like a puppy, and slowly nodded. “I love you …”

“I love you too- now- go to sleep or something- I know you’re tired after crying so much-” 

“Hmf ..” Luke crossed his arms, “you better not go anywhere ..” He said, and Clive nodded, “I have nowhere to go-” he said, pulling Luke onto him. Luke settled into his chest, and closed his eyes, “okay …” he mumbled, trying his best to fall asleep. 

…

Luke looked at Celeste as she stretched. The practice in the gym hadn’t been the same since that day. The two were keeping quiet, but it was awkward, and tense. They were on opposite sides of the gym, and Luke was messing around with a jump rope as Flora counted for him. 

Fifty eight- fifty nine- 

Celeste looked up, and Luke felt frozen. He didn’t look away … she squinted at him, and he tensed a little, but he still continued to watch as she leaned forward …

“Luke?” Flora said, and Luke stopped jumping for a second, panting softly before looking over at Flora. “H-huh?”

“Are you okay? You’re staring at her again-”

“I- I’m okay- I just- feel weird ..”

“... OH MY GOSH are you hitting puberty?!” 

“.. w-what?”

“Dahlia said when boys hit puberty they start looking at girls all weird and stuff! And then after that we can’t be friends because you’ll be too distracted!”

“ …that’s not true! Is- is it?”

“Are you calling her a liar?” Flora put her hands on her hips, and Luke looked away, “I’m not-! I was just saying that maybe she made a mistake or something- everyone gets stuff wrong-” 

“Yeah well you better not go all weird on me- but anyways- how come your roommate and that weird boy doesn't come watch us practice anymore?" She asked, and Luke looked away. "They were only doing that cause … ugh- they got busy-" he said, and she nodded. "oh- i hope they come back soon-"

"Why? You don't feel weird with them watching?"

"I like an audience!"

"You're- weird!" Luke said, "you're always so happy about everything- even when people are being mean to you-! You never get upset?" He asked, and … she hummed. "I don't like to be upset- it's gross- gives you wrinkles …" she said, poking his cheek. Luke smiled, "are you saying I have wrinkles?"

"I'm saying you'll get wrinkles if you don't cheer. Up. Cheerleader." She said, squishing his face in her hands. "What is there to worry about? You're at one of the best schools in the world! You're cute! You're popular! You've got a cool boyfriend! Smile gosh darn it!" She said, shaking Luke by his shoulders. 

Luke sighed, "I know! I just- bad stuff keeps happening to him! And me- and lately everything just makes me tired …" Luke said. Flora nodded, "I know what you need-"

"Eh?"

"Some you time! I'm not practicing with you today- go take a break?"

"W-what?"

"Go! Go be alone- and think- and then maybe you'll feel better and you won't be staring at girls!"

"It's not like that!" Luke whined, and she giggled to herself, "If you don't go i'm gonna tell everyone you're acting funny-"

"Okay! I'm leaving!" Luke said, dropping the jump rope on the floor. He took off for the locker rooms, hoping she didn't go spreading some strange rumor while he was gone.

He walked into the doorway that led to the locker room, he flicked the light on, and went inside, going over to his pile of clothes. He started to think about that night again, he'd been so mad, he didn't know what else to do. He didn't even see the knife at first, all he saw was her holding him down, and him trying to get up. 

he pulled his shirt on, and flinched when the door suddenly shut. He turned, seeing Celeste standing near it …

"You got a problem?" She asked, and Luke huffed, " you won't hurt me." He said, pulling his shorts on. She hummed, and nodded, "I was actually hoping we could put this whole thing behind us-" 

"I'll never forget! And i'll never be your friend ever ever EVER again!"

"Don't- be like that- come on-" she rolled her eyes, and he looked away, "why?" Was all he could think of in the moment. His mind was drawing blanks.. she pushed her hair out of her face, "Cause- why not? Wouldn't it be better for everyone to just get along?"

"..hm" Luke crossed his arms, and sat down. She took the opportunity to walk over to him, and sit down next to him. "Alright, I'll level with you … It wasn't what it looked like- okay?"

"How?" Luke said, clearly still upset. She gave him an elongated sigh, "Because-" she dramatically stated, turning her head away, "He tried to choke me- it was self defense-" 

"You must have tried something first- Clive's too scared to touch girls so he won't hit one-" 

"... I said some things, just jokes- and he got angry-"

"I watched it happen." Luke mumbled. "I peeked out of the door when he didn't follow me in, I saw it all-! If you're scared now then I can't help you- I won't help you! I hope something bad happens-" 

"..." Celeste- clenched her fist, and got up. "You act like you care about him so much .." she stopped, and walked off, Leaving Luke alone in the locker room … he pulled out his phone, and went to his messages, face twisted into a sickly expression. 

…

Luke walked across the small bridge that went across a pretty Lake in the middle of the school. Everyone seemed like they were gone, but- where? He kept walking, listening to the sound of cheering, and a loud voice announcing something … was there a game today?

He walked towards it, the sound of the water keeping him calm on this cold, frustrating day. He stared at the ground, able to make out words when he got close enough. The sound was coming from the track field …

In number one we have Theo Miller- In number two we have Brian Wright- Number three Clive Dove- number four-

Luke was watching through the chain link fence now, staring at Clive as he jogged in place, stretching like he was getting ready …

Luke felt- weird- didn't he say he wasn't doing this? Why would he want to leave school if he was running track? He watched Clive get into a starting position. He looked upset, he was mumbling something to himself. Standing there dressed in black short shorts and a gray shirt with the school's logo on it. 

Maybe that's why he was mad, he looked uncomfortable. Luke stood there, watching, wondering why he didn't tell him …

It wasn't until an extremely loud sound was set off, and Clive started to run, that Luke became invested. He always knew Clive was fast, but- to actually see him going faster than everyone else, barely breaking a sweat. Luke was sort of mesmerized by it, he'd seen Clive run, but not like this. Steady, sort of calculated, like he was confident he could win. Everyone behind him seemed calm, but the further back people were, the faster they started to run. 

Luke watched Clive as he moved, he was halfway around by now, but he looked bored. He looked up, with that angry look he had when he felt like someone was talking shit about him, and he spotted Luke, staring at him before he turned red, and really started to run. 

Luke couldn't help but smile, making his way towards the entrance. He heard the sound of cheering, and the announcer saying that Clive won. He could just imagine his face, watching as he tried to pull away from everyone trying to congratulate him.

Luke stood behind the bleachers, just watching as he tried to keep calm. The gym teacher seemed to be happier about it than anyone else. He was answering questions, trying to convince the angry teen to hold on for just another moment.

Luke watched as Clive finally broke away from them, and let out a few curse words before taking off towards the locker room. 

Luke … followed, was he mad because Luke saw him? Was he mad that everyone was trying to talk to him at once? Did he not want his trophy? Luke shuffled behind a brick building, rounding the corner, peeking out to see the gym teacher following behind Clive. 

"Clive!" The teacher said, only getting a mumble in response as Clive shoved the door open. "I'm leaving- get out so I can change-" he said, grabbing his bag. He opened it, and took out a pack of cigarettes, and a lighter. 

"... Right back to old habits, huh? Come onn! You won! You've got talent! You could be famous if you just stick with it! I hate seeing wasted potential-" 

"Fuck you and fuck this gay ass sport man-" Clive struck his lighter … and turned, leaning back against the locker. "You got your stupid trophy, now they wont fire your ass- you're welcome, i'm out." Clive said, blowing smoke into the gym teacher's face as he got closer. 

"Listen, I know i'm hard on you, son-"

"Call me son one more GOD DAMN time and I will BURN you-" 

"A-alright- just Calm down, what's got you so tense?" 

" … I thought I saw someone, don't worry about it." Clive said, "just get out so I can change-" he said. 

"Why can't you just change while we talk?"

"I. Don't. Want. You. Looking. At. Me." 

"Clive- what do you take me for?" The man said, and Clive rolled his eyes, "Is it that weird that I'm asking for some privacy? Why do you Always have to be around?" 

"Because this is important! You just won! A thousand meters- Clive- You could be-"

"No." Clive sighed, "I'm done with this- this was the last game- just- leave me alone already!" He said, coughing a little bit. Clive sat down, he was still sort of out of breath, he was trying to get it all over with- his legs hurt .. The gym teacher just looked at him .. before sitting down next to him on the bleachers, "look-" he said. "You're done here- senior year- you get to graduate … and now you've even got other schools, good schools, wanting you on their teams." The teacher said, giving Clive's sweaty back a gentle pat. "You can do anything you want- all I'm asking is that you don't give this up- that's it …" he said. 

Clive was quiet … Luke watched him as he sat there, the boy was peeking in from the doorway, able to hear them, but not see them too well. He could hear the sound of something moving, and he looked to see the gym teacher giving Clive something, paper? Clive looked at it … and sighed. 

"Just- tell them to let me take the test again, I'm not stupid- i can pass- i got kicked out for talking .."

"I will- i will- so you'll keep running?"

"Sure … just- get out already-" 

"Aaaah alright-!" the man walked away, happier than ever. Luke moved out of his way, running a little bit down the hall, pretending like he was walking somewhere. The happy man seemed to skip down the hall, whistling something to himself. 

Luke waited for him to leave … and smiled, snaking his way into the locker room. He walked in, and ran right up to Clive, who nearly screamed as something grabbed him by his leg. 

"Fuck-! Pukey!" Clive yelled, and Luke looked up at him. "Don't do that, you're gonna give me a heart attack dude-" 

Luke snorted, "nice butt- what are you doing? I saw you running!" 

"You're so- gay … shouldn't you be in cheer practice? Or- something-" 

Luke hummed, pulling away so Clive could put his pants on. "I got told to leave- Flora said i needed me time .." he said, and Clive nodded. "So then why are you here? Don't you need to be alone for you time?" 

"... W-well- yeah- but- I don't wanna be alone- And I wanna congratulate you!" Luke said. Watching Clive as he sat down on the bench, "with what? Let me guess- you're gonna throw up on me-" He said, and Luke moved forward, "no~ nobody's coming in here, right?" Luke said, poking at Clive's chest. 

"Well … no- but- i'm not-" 

"Cliiiivvveee You're never in the mood- it's been weeeeks-" Luke pulled at his arm, had it really been weeks?

"I- what? Are you having dick withdrawals or something?" 

"Yes .." Luke said, getting up onto the bench, hanging off of Clive's shoulder. He started kissing his cheek, his ear, the spot on his neck he said not to touch, "We can do it quick~" he begged, not at all being rejected.

"Luke- I-"

"Clive- really- is something wrong? You never say you don't want to-" 

"I told you i've just been busy with something else-" 

"Was this not it? What else is there that can make you so stressed?" 

"I'm not- stressed-" Clive picked Luke up, "You're just being a little perv all of a sudden" he set him down on his lap, and Luke opened his legs, putting them at Clive's sides. "I just miss you .." He claimed, before looking down as something pressed up against his stomach. 

He stared for a second, seeing Clive's length. "... Aw- why's it not standing up? Oh my god is there something wrong?! I'm so sorry I kept asking!"

"N-no- there's nothing wrong with it! it's not supposed to be hard all the time-" Clive said. That'd be … hell.

"Ohh .. it looks smaller like that-"

"It is- just- here- you have to make it stand or it'll just be like that-" Clive put Luke's hand on his tip, and Luke started to rub his fingers against it, watching it as it twitched. "It's so soft … like a gummy worm.." 

Luke ran his other hand's fingers up and down the line on the under side. "Yeah?" Clive reached forward, sliding his hands up Luke's legs, into his shorts, pulling him a little closer by his backside. His length was starting to rest against his chest, when Luke suddenly got an idea. He stopped, and Clive sighed, "You're right- i am tense .." he mumbled, watching Luke take his shirt off. "I know! And you just wouldn't let me help you! I promise i'll take care of it-" He said, undoing his binder. Clive looked down at his chest, watching as Luke pushed it up against his length. 

"... That's- so cute-"

Luke turned red, sliding his chest down, feeling Clive's tip poke his cheek. Luke kissed it, and it throbbed, hard, making him wanna do it again. 

"Lukey~" Clive leaned back, just letting him do whatever he wanted. His chest was so soft, so small, every time Luke's nipple would brush up against him, he'd Lose it a little bit. Luke stopped again, and pulled away, poking at the liquid pooling at Clive's tip. " W-what?" Clive asked, and Luke wiped his face, "It was getting on my face-" 

"Ah .." he said, gently pushing Luke back onto his legs. The boy was so small he could just lay there while Clive pulled his shorts off, tossing them over onto his bag. 

He then reached into said bag, getting out a familiar red piece of rubber, breaking it open, letting Luke stare at it. 

"What's that for?" He asked, and Clive shrugged, "You like to wrap your legs around me and I'm not trying to get you pregnant-"

"I'm on the pill!"

"Yeah but sometimes it doesn't work .." Clive said. Luke huffed, "but then I won't be able to feel you! You don't need it-"

"You'll still feel me- it's textured- you'll like it-" Clive said, sliding it down to the base of his length. He pressed his fingers between Luke's legs, rubbing him through the thin fabric he had on. "You trying to give me a boob job was so cute-" he said, feeling Luke tense a little. 

"Your face is soft too ." He hummed, pushing the fabric to the side. "My face?" Luke asked, trembling a little when Clive slowly let his finger slide down his slit. "Mmhmm"

"You're acting like yourself again-" Luke said, gasping as Clive pushed his fingers into him. "and you're- sensitive all of a sudden-" he said, curling his fingers up, watching Luke arch his back. 

"It's been a long time!" He whined, flinching as Clive flicked him with his other hand. "You need to learn to do this yourself-" 

"That's gross! Why would I need to when I have you around?"

"So you'll be able to take it better .." Clive said, rubbing his fingers against the swelling spot. "Nng-! W-wait- I think-" 

"You're gonna cum~? Just from this? Wow pukey-" 

"Noo! That's not- hhh Clive s-stop!"

"It's okay- just let it out-" He said, before Luke reached for his hand, suddenly jolting a little bit as something came spraying out of him. Clive … looked … and sighed, letting Luke get all of it out. He watched the boy as he went limp. 

"I'm sorry-" Luke whined, feeling a hand gently rub his stomach. "Don't worry about it … just go get me some clothes after this-" he said, watching Luke nod. "first it's puke now it's pee-" 

"I didn't mean to-!" The boy swore.

"Mm-" Clive pressed his tip against Luke's reddened slit, pushing it in with much more ease than he thought. Luke gasped, being pulled up, forced to take the entire thing right there. He was shaking, mouth wide open as he leaned forward, shoving his face in Clive's chest. 

"Cwive- don't be maad-"

"I'm not mad- does it hurt?"

Luke shook his head, stomach throbbing as he was lifted up, and the bumpy texture of the condom shocked his core, making him nearly braindead. He was drooling a little bit, trying not to let it show as Clive just used his body, moving it how he wanted, occasionally bucking his hips up into him, saying something Luke couldn't quite make out. 

Luke pulled back a little as Clive's hands came to his chest, fingers grinding into his nipples as he really started to get impatient. He stopped for a second, panting, "sorry- i'm kinda tired-" he said, kissing his forehead as he paused. 

"D-don't stop- hh- please-" Luke begged, moving on his own. He could feel the hair on Clive's stomach brushing across his button, he almost forgot it was there, reaching down, rubbing on it with his fingers as he started to grind Clive into his sweet spot. 

The older boy just let him, slowly moving his hips up, the occasional burst of pleasure being just enough for him. 

Clive reached back, and Luke's eyes flew open as one of his fingers made its way into the wrong hole. 

"W-what are you doing?!"

"Nothing~" Clive moved Luke, and he moaned, squeezing around the length inside of him. He moaned, and Clive bit his lip, listening to the wet sound of Luke's body sliding across his own. Sometimes that was enough to send him over the edge, it'd been a while too, he was about to cum- 

But not before Luke did-

He moved, setting Luke down on the bench, keeping his hand where it was, watching him unravel as Clive started to thrust. "y-you- ah- n-naa!" Luke whimpered, and Clive watched him hide his face with his other hand as he started to cry. 

"Good boy~" Clive cooed, rubbing his chest. Luke's legs tensed, and rose as Clive pulled at one of his nipples, pushing in a second finger. He came, letting his hand fall, but Clive didn't stop, he only got even rougher throwing his hips forward before he hissed, head clouding, stomach flipping over. A liquid rushed out of his tip, and for once he was unable to keep himself from moaning as it just- kept going. 

"Jesus- fucking-" he leaned forward, lowering his head, able to feel it leaking out onto the bench … well, better the floor than in Luke. 

Luke just panted, before looking down, " At least I don't have to clean up now .." he said, breath hitching as Clive slowly slid out of him. He felt every little inch and every bump until Clive was out, pulling off the condom with a grossed out expression.

"Ew- look-" he said, tossing it at Luke, who squealed and pushed it away. "That's disgusting! What are you laughing at?!" 

"You-"

Luke slapped his arm, "gross-" he moved away, legs wobbly as he tried to stand up. "Go shower or something- i'll bring you some clothes-" 

"Be quick- please-"

"I'll try- my legs …" Luke pulled his shorts back on, waddling away as quickly as he could. Clive just sighed … he should probably clean this up. And wash his hands.


	34. Night before

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke learns that there's a prom coming up

“Sooo-” Flora asked, nudging Luke with her elbow as he read his book about … anatomy.. “are you going to prom?” she playfully asked. She'd finally bought another rubber band to put her hair back with, so now she was back to her regular ponytail.

Luke looked up, sitting next to her at their table usually meant being asked this kind of stuff every day, there was always an event being hosted at school, but- prom? That’s right, high schools did have proms, after all. He didn’t expect it from a college prep school though, everything was so “ _ grades grades grades! _ ” all the time, or … well, they’d spent a good chunk of time just relaxing, so maybe they would have a prom? “I didn’t know it was happening-” 

“Really? There’s been posters hung up everywhere-”

“I- I haven’t seen any-” Luke thought about it for a moment, They hadn’t announced it, and nobody else had said anything so far. He figured they must’ve assumed he already knew about it … right? Flora seemed a little suspicious, “that’s- weird- You didn’t get my text?” 

“You texted me?”

“Yeah- this morning I texted and asked if you were going- since it’s saturday and Dahlia doesn’t want to go-” 

“ _ I- I wanna go- _ ” Lili said, in a quiet, completely unheard voice. Luke shook his head, having taken his phone out. “I guess I didn’t get it- maybe- uh- service was out? It did rain last night- o-or I guess it’s my phone.” He sighed, and put it back down onto the table. “Dahlia doesn’t wanna go with you?” Luke asked, and Flora nodded. “She says she doesn’t feel like it’s fair, if she goes then everyone’s gonna vote her for prom queen and she doesn’t wanna ruin the fun-”

“Oh … that’s nice- I guess-” He said, looking down at the floor. Flora smiled, “But it’s fine because you can go with me, right?” 

“Um- I don’t know- I think Clive might not wanna go-” Luke said, putting his head down on the table. “But he’s been weirdly happy lately, so maybe-”

“Come onnnnn you act like you have to ask him for permission to do anything! Does he make you walk in a line too?”

Luke blushed, “it’s not like that, he just doesn’t wanna get expelled if something happens to me- he’s just worried- he cares ..”

“Sounds like you’re making excuses for him” Flora said, “ Dahlia is my roommate and she’s letting me go, does that mean she doesn’t care about me?” she asked, and Luke whined, “I don’t know! I don’t think he means anything bad by it-” 

“Well … I think he’s hovering a little-” 

“...” Luke shrugged, “ I think he just misses me when i’m gone-” He said, staring down at the book. He’d been reading it just for fun, but recently it’d become something to distract him from looking at his phone. The less he looked at it, the less he’d get the urge to text him.

“Maybe … ooh! I know- I’ll tell Dahlia he’s sick and then she’ll visit him and he won’t be lonely!”

“...  _ I don’t know if that’s a good idea-” _

“ well what else can we do?”

“I don’t know-” Luke thought to himself, and Lili spoke up again. “I- I’ll go to prom with you!” She said, face completely red. “It’ll be fun- I even have something to wear already-” 

“.. _ hmmm _ ” Flora said, “then you can come with us! Help me figure out a way to get Luke out-”

“I- … o-okay.” She sighed, defeated. “He can’t say anything if he’s asleep- why not give him something so he’ll be tired?”

“ …  _ I’m not sure if I’ve ever actually seen Clive sleep _ ” 

“Well- We’ll figure it out-” Flora said, and Luke nodded, wondering how exactly this would go. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Luke held onto his bag, staring down at the floor, able to see his reflection in it. Thank god he wore shorts today, or else he’d be able to see right up. Shorts and the regular blazer, with a longer tie than usual. He’d gotten new shoes recently, getting spoiled by Clive whenever he was out in public. He only asked for these because they had a cool pattern at the bottom, and Clive had just been so happy lately, he did pretty much whatever Luke wanted. 

Luke looked up, He was making his way towards his health Class, where he’d be able to ask Clive about going to prom.. He could already imagine it. 

_ It’s so dumb, why would anyone wanna go to that? _

_ There’s nothing to do there- _

_ It’ll be boring~ _

He stopped, and looked up, seeing a familiar face. Clive was leaving, walking out of the classroom with his bag in hand, making his way down the hallway, going the opposite direction. Luke started to run after him. “Where are you going?!” He asked, and Clive turned, “oh- uh-” He mumbled, “to the bathroom- I gotta pee-”

“You’re taking your stuff with you to the bathroom?” 

“I don’t want anyone going through it, you know how people are ..” 

“Oh- I- guess? But- I need to ask you something!” Luke said, feeling his mind set off a few triggers that something might go wrong. Clive was just waiting, and suddenly Luke remembered he was supposed to be talking, “Well- Prom is coming up so- i- i was just wondering if you wanted to go- maybe?"

“.. ah-” Clive sighed, “Damn, I was hoping you wouldn’t find out-” He said, looking away. Luke almost didn’t believe what he’d heard, so he had to ask, “Wha?”

“I’m not really allowed to go- since I have to retake that test I failed-" Clive said. Luke had no idea whether or not he was telling the truth, it was always sort of hard to tell those kinds of things when it came to him. Was he looking away because he was lying, or because he was embarrassed? 

"What- when do you have to take it?" Luke asked. 

"Well, Today- and the math part is on saturday-" Clive said. “The makeup tests were spread out to make sure the people who failed couldn’t go to prom, like a punishment thing I guess, sorry I didn’t say anything. I would have taken it sooner but they wouldn’t let me since the rooms were all full.

“... oh- so you’re not going?” Luke asked, looking down at the floor. Clive just sighed, “I can’t go- Sorry Lukey- I really would if I could-”

“ so we can’t go together ..?” Luke asked, getting a head shake from the other, who saw how Clearly upset Luke was by the whole situation. Clive sighed, “I gotta pee, we’ll talk about it, alright?"

"Yeah .." Luke said, watching him go … of course something like this would happen. Of all the days for Clive to have to take a test, of course it’d be on the one day when they were supposed to do something together. He made his way back to class, wondering what they'd possibly have to talk about. If he couldn’t go then he just couldn’t go …

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


...

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Brenda watched Luke as he ate his lunch … he'd been doing all of the cooking, but she still wanted to make his lunches for him since she didn't attend classes, just went home to keep Clark from getting  _ too  _ suspicious. She'd brought leftovers, a tuna salad, which Luke sullenly ate, giving the floor a mopey stare. They were alone, having Lunch at the bus stop's bench as they waited on it to get here. 

"... What's wrong?" She finally asked. She’d been holding out on saying anything, thinking that maybe Luke wouldn’t wanna talk about it, since she’d come to find out there were lots of things that Luke just .. didn’t talk about. Luke looked up at her .. before looking down. "Nothing ever goes right .." he said, continuing to eat. Brenda put a hand on his head, "aw- did something happen?" 

"... he can't go to prom because he has to take a test,” Luke said. “That test from a while ago, because he talked during it-” 

“... really? Well, who says you two can’t just be together normally that day?”

Luke stayed still for a second, before looking over at Brenda. “He’s been really happy ..” He said, and She nodded. Luke looked down, an uneasy expression playing across his features, “what if it’s because he didn’t wanna go, so he failed on purpose?” 

“ .. ah- I don’t think he can think that far ahead- n-no offense! I just- it doesn’t seem like something he would do- I’m sure he wanted to go with you-” She said, giving him a gentle rub on the back. Luke nodded, “I guess you’re right ..” He continued to eat, clearly still very, very, very upset by the whole thing. It was the middle of the day, not the time to be so depressed about something so small. Brenda wondered if he’d be alright, thinking about the situation for a second before she smiled, putting an arm around his shoulder, “Well, the prom probably lasts a long time so he’ll be able to make it if he finishes fast, right?”

“.. He’s not allowed to go- and I don’t think he’d finish it fast when he usually can't even get through his homework-”

“O-oh - ah- Well then, why not get someone to take it for him? In his place-”

“... but who-  _ wait-  _ I know someone who’s not going! Ah- but would that really work?” He said, and she smiled, “well, you could always try-” She said, cupping his face, “Now cheer up! It’ll all work itself out-” she said, squishing his face.

“Mommm-!” He whined, pushing her hands away. “Hmmm? Also! Why didn’t you tell me any of this was going on?”

“Any of what?”

“Any of- this!” She motioned to him, “ I didn’t know what to think at first- but now I just keep wondering why you wouldn’t tell me about it .. you’re a beautiful boy-” She said, and Luke turned red. “I didn’t wanna tell you, I didn’t think Clive would end up telling you either … It’s- I just- didn’t know if you’d be okay with it-  _ I’m shocked He hasn’t made fun of me for it yet- _ ” He said. She shook her head “ You’re always gonna be my baby … You don’t have to be scared to tell me anything.”

Luke sighed, and leaned over onto her. He didn’t say anything, there wasn’t much to say. “I love you ..” He held onto her hand.

“Your birthday is coming up~” She said, putting a hand through his hair. “I know-” Luke laid his head on her lap. “I don’t know what I want ..” He mumbled. Brenda shrugged, “How about some new clothes?” 

“I like my clothes .. but- I did see this really cute backpack” Luke said. Brenda nodded, “Oh?”

“Yeah, it was see through- and red! And it had cat ears on it-” He said. “But- I don’t want you to get me anything, If I could just go home again to celebrate that’d be nice .. how come you haven’t been home?”

“... ah- um- Let’s see …” Brenda looked away, poking at Luke’s rosy cheeks. 

“Mom?”

“I’m not good at coming up with things on the spot-”

“Did something happen?”

“Oh no! No no- It was just …” She pushed her hair behind her ear. “I don’t know … I just feel so unappreciated sometimes. I just thought maybe some time apart would be nice, so he would finally realize … I don’t know- but I’m having fun here with you two-” 

“.. oh-” Luke thought about that for a second, “at first I thought you just came to party-”

“Ha- uh ..  _ pff of course not _ \- well- maybe just a little bit! But I really did want to see you-” She said, “I miss seeing you walk home every day, it felt a little less lonely when you were around … so- uh- prom-” She said, trying to change the subject as fast as possible. Luke hummed, 

“Yeah-” Luke sighed, sitting up. He could see the bus in the distance, pulling up towards him. “I think it’ll be fine either way-” 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Luke held Clive’s hand as he walked to the testing room, trying to convince him not to go. “Dahlia can go for you and then you can go with me! Plus- who wants to be stuck taking some dumb test when we could be going together~?" He asked. They were going down a hallway, but they'd been walking for a while. Luke figured it was just taking a while to get there, maybe it was a little far away? But they had passed the same few lockers about twice now. 

Clive finally decided to stop, and let go of Luke's hand. He seemed to be stuck in thought for a second as Luke stared up at him, wondering if they'd finally made it to the testing room. "Uh-" he mumbled out, "You don't need to follow me inside- it's here-" Clive pointed to the door. "I'll try to make it quick, alright?" He promised, and Luke .. nodded, messing with the fabric at the end of his skirt. "I want to wait .. even if we can't make it, I'd feel better not having to walk home alone." 

“...” Clive took a breath, “Alright …  _ Luke I already took the test- _ ”

“...”

“I just reaaaaaally don’t wanna go to prom- this is a hall closet-”

“... Clive-” Luke stared up at him, he knew it this whole time but, still, it hurt to hear. 

“I’m sorry! I just- You  _ know  _ how people are- If I go I’ll just get stared at the whole time and- that feels weird- Plus school events are bad luck and they never end well for us- The parties haven’t been alright since the second one and they keep getting worse- it’s just- Y-you’re really not even a little scared to go?”

Luke shook his head, “Things are only bad when you’re not with me- I promise nothing will happen as long we’re together- You could have just said that-” He crossed his arms. “I wouldn’t have bothered you so much about it, I would have just gone alone ..” He sighed, and Clive looked away. “But- I didn’t want you to be alone- I know you probably would have gone with a friend but- I also know it wouldn’t be the same and you’d still be upset about it-” He shrugged, “and I’m not good at this kind of thing so I just- figured it’d be easier to avoid it altogether .. I was taking posters down and everything-”

Luke looked down, “I- I was trying not to be- Flora said I shouldn’t be like this all of the time because I have a good boyfriend, and good friends, and I already get most of the things I want so now I feel bad about complaining … I just really really really  _ really  _ **_really_ ** wanted to go with you! Plus- Lili really wants to go with Flora-”

“... well- you can complain to me- and- why not get Flora to take Lili, then you and I can go together- maybe”

“.. y-you changed your mind already?” Luke asked, and Clive shrugged. “I'm just worried I’ll run into any of the seven people who seem to want me dead there- it’s a pretty complicated situation- and the second I get alone nothing good is gonna happen ..” He crossed his arms, leaning against the door. “And me being scared doesn’t make it any better-” he looked up at the ceiling light. 

“.. well- there’s nothing they can do if I’m always watching- I’ll protect you!”

“...” Clive sighed, “Fine … but if something happens then- I’m leaving-”

“I promise nothing will happen!” Luke said, before seemingly starting to back away. “Hold on! A-actually- Pretend I was never here! I gotta go!” He said, running away. “You-” Clive started to say something, but Luke was already gone .. he looked down, thinking about the fact that he’s too scared to go to prom. That the people at this school scare him so much he’s resorted to hiding … wow. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


“Pleaaaaaaaase” Desmond asked, for what felt like the hundredth time. Clive made the mistake of agreeing to walk home with him and Emmy, but it felt more like he was third wheeling. 

“Three out of ten-” Emmy said, referring to the many many versions of “please” that he’d been performing. It was getting dark, Clive started to wonder just how long he’d have to listen to this. 

“Pleaaaaasee!!!!”Desmond said again, and she hummed. “That one was good but your voice cracked so it’s a six-” 

He sighed, and looked at Clive, who had absolutely no idea what the point of this was. “What are you asking for, again?” Emmy said, and Dez sighed … 

“ _ Prom _ ”

“Oh- right- uhhhh when is that again?”

“Saturday-”

“Ohhh … nah-”

“Pleasee?”

“Two- “

Clive cleared his throat, “there’ll be food there- and Dahlia isn’t going according to Luke-”

“She’s not?”

“Nope- Imagine how jealous she’d be if you ended up being prom queen-”

“...” Emmy spaced out, “I could make that bitch  _ suffer- _ ” She whispered to herself. Desmond hummed … “C-Clive, you’re not going either- right?”

“... sorry- Luke wants me to go-” Clive scratched his neck, looking away, “but it’ll be fine- ever since that thing with the pictures, nobody really likes me all that much-”

“Oh … ohhhhh is that why you’ve been so happy?” Dez asked, and Clive shrugged. “I’m finally normal- ugh-” He mumbled. “I guess she really was trying to help … Or- maybe this all backfired in a good way?” He started to talk to himself. Emmy stopped, “You’re going to prom with me so you’d better look nice! You wear that same suit every single day-  _ you’d better not wear it there- _ ”

“Huh? This one’s different- well- i have a bunch of them-”

“Weird-”

“Whaat? It’s a uniform! There’s not much to customize-” He said, looking over at Clive. “He wears that same sweater every day too-”

“.. huh?” Clive looked over, and Emmy shrugged. “He doesn’t shower so it makes sense-”

“I- I shower! You’re one to talk with those dirty fingernails-” Clive said, before Dez put a hand over his mouth. “He doesn’t mean it!” 

Clive huffed, moving his hand away. Emmy shrugged, “ Maybe if you didn’t eat your fingernails you’d have some-” She said, and he sighed, giving up before it got out of hand. “ How fucking far away do you live-” 

“Oh we passed it a while ago-”

“What?” 

“I’m jokiiing it’s over there-” she pointed to the house at the end of the block, and Clive rolled his eyes, “I’m going back-” he said. Dez nodded, “alright- bye Emmy-”

“You’re coming with me!”

“Wh- It’s getting dark-”

“I don’t care! Let’s go-”

Dez waited, Clive was just walking on, waving him off, “ _ go ahead _ .” He sighed, “Bye- Clive-” He let out before he was pulled along.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Desmond looked around Emmy’s room, having never been in here before. Everything was surprisingly yellow, the beds, the walls, the carpet,  _ his eyes.  _ What time was it again? 

He looked down at his phone as she tossed clothes across the room, 1AM Friday. 

“... Hey- I should probably go-” He said, and Emmy shook her head, “Not yet- I can’t find anything to wear-”

“You’re rich- can’t you just- buy something? Plus- wouldn’t it be a good idea to buy new clothes so you’ll be in something that nobody else is wearing- or - the latest- whatever-” He waved a hand, trying to rationalize with half his normal brain function. “Or just show up nakeeed-”

“... You’re right!” Emmy said, and Dez looked up. “What? You’re gonna show up naked?”

“I- No! Of course not! I’m gonna buy new clothes dumbass-” 

“Oh … riiight-” He said, yawning. “So then I’m leaving-” 

“Why do you keep trying to leave?”

“It’s- one in the morning-”

“Well you can’t be that tired-” She reached out towards him, and he grabbed her arm, pulling her down. 

“There’s no way you’re still awake-”

“W-what are you doing! We have to go!”

“Sleep-”

“But-”

“Sleeeeeeeep-” He laid down, and she huffed, trying to pull away. It seemed impossible, but after a little while, she started to actually get a little tired …”fine.” She mumbled, kicking aside the blanket. She was able to move it onto them both with just a leg, snapping twice to turn the lights off. 

“Rich …” Dez mumbled, and she huffed. “Poor- you can let go of me- it’s not like i’m going anywhere” 

  
  


“Nah ..” 

“You’re being annoying-”

“Just- sleep- you can’t sleep if you talk ..”

“..” She closed her eyes, shuffling further underneath the blanket. It was warm, extremely comfortable. She didn’t get it, maybe if it was just because she’d never had the chance to cuddle with anyone before, but it was getting harder and harder to keep her eyes open. 

“Hey-” she asked, and he hummed. “How come you’re always around ..” 

“ ..” He shrugged, “for fun?” he said, not really sounding all that sure about it. She made a sound, “if you want … we can just go- even if I don’t win ..”

“.. cool” Dez mumbled, smiling even in his sleep. She shook her head, “don’t get all excited- it’s just for one day ..” She said, not hearing anything back. 

“Hello?” She looked up, seeing that he was completely knocked out. He was snoring ..  _ it was kind of loud- _ but not obnoxious, at least not to her. She pulled his glasses off of his face, rolling him over onto his other side. Well, that sure didn’t last all that long. She tossed his glasses over at her dresser, and laid back down, deciding she’d just tell him that in the morning.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


"Have you seen Luke?" Clive asked, getting a head shake from Brenda. He woke up this morning and the boy was gone, leaving just a little flower inside of a card that had "will you go to prom with me?" written on it on their table. He didn't know what he expected when Luke ran off, but it wasn't this teeny tiny flower taped to the inside of a piece of paper.

"I guess he's just … making the most of this-" Clive sighed, "but i'm a little worried he's gone overboard-" he said. She shrugged, "he seemed happy you agreed to go- he's just having a little fun-" she said. Clive hoped this was just a little bit of fun- and not something he'd have to worry about later. 

"Well- i'll be on my way since I can't go to classes with you-" Brenda said, and Clive nodded, "Don't trip-" 

"Why would I trip?"

"Top heavy-"

Brenda crossed her arms, " You get one more of those jokes before I start getting annoyed .." she said, watching Clive just barely laugh, opening the hallway door. It was empty, which was unusual since it was early in the morning. He looked at the time, and sighed. 

Right, he was late, that made sense. Who would have known that without Luke to wake him up, he wouldn't make it on time? He walked down the hall, looking at all of the lockers as he walked by. He went towards his own, and opened it up with a precise punch to the lock. The door opened …

"H-hi" Luke said, having been stuffed inside. He was holding a bunch of little flowers that he'd probably gotten from the ground. He looked like he had been crying too, Clive clenched his fists … before taking a breath. "Are you okay??" He asked, holding his hands out. Luke nodded, "while I was waiting for you some losers came by and put me in here! My legs hurt-" 

"who was it? Did you see any faces?" Clive asked, pulling Luke's legs out from inside the locker. "I don't know- they just kept laughing and laughing- I wished you were here to beat them up! If I ever see them again …" Luke shook his head. "But it was just a joke, probably-" he said, trying to continue on being his usual self.

"But- w-will you go to prom with me? I know it's weird now but I wanted to be the one to ask you!" 

"God-" Clive said, taking the flowers from him. He kissed Luke while he was still in the locker. He pulled away, pulling Luke out with him in the process. He held onto him, accidentally dropping the flowers as Luke let his weight rest on Clive's shoulder. 

"Thank you!" Luke said, nuzzling him. 

"Yeah …" Clive hugged Luke, "let's go home-"

"How come?"

"You have dirt all over your clothes now-" Clive said, Holding Luke by his hands. Luke nervously laughed, "ah- i see-" he mumbled, looking at all of the dirt on his shorts. It looked like pencil lead or something, 

Of course something like this would happen today. At least that was more time he could spend with Clive. 

Plus, now Clive wasn't gonna see the complete mess Luke made trying to spell something out on his desk with markers. 


	35. a very normal prom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the prom episode

Luke looked around the massive hall, huge chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, reflective floors that almost looked like they were made of gold. Chapel windows that rose from the floors, seemingly to the skies in a beautiful display of nothing but wealth and grace. There had to be hundreds of people in here, Not everyone could make it. The tickets were expensive and even the middle class kids wouldn’t be able to normally afford it. 

Luke was stunned, absolutely stunned, standing there with his eyes permanently open as he looked around at the building. Clive just stood next to him, sipping something from a cup, having not said anything about his stalled state. He hadn't said much of anything at all, It was a little amusing to watch him slowly walk around and be amazed at everything he saw. The food here was unfamiliar to him, even though nobody here was old enough to drink, there was what looked like wine, which was probably non-alcoholic … as far as the school knew. 

Luke was wearing a dress with a massive, fluffy, cream white bottom to it. The ruffles went in tight S shapes all the way down to the floor. Clive was wearing what he always wore, the same sweater and uniform, saying he didn’t want to change because he was comfortable in these clothes. He put a hand on top of Luke’s head, and the boy finally snapped out of his trance, looking up at him. “You’re okay, right? You’re not usually so surprised by this stuff-” Clive asked, watching as Luke turned a little red. 

It took a while of blank staring, but- eventually the other nodded, and looked away. “I just- Can’t believe you didn’t want to come-” He said, and Clive nodded. “I’m sorry … I have to go to the bathroom-” Luke said, starting to walk off. 

“H-huh? Hold on!” Clive said, starting to follow after him before the boy looked back at him, pointing an accusatory finger, “Don’t follow me into the bathroom!” He said, trying not to be too loud with that specific sentence.

“But you said you wouldn’t leave!” Clive whisper-yelled back at him. 

“I’ll come back! Just wait here- Don’t go anywhere-” Luke said, shuffling off. Clive just watched him go … He pulled the flask out of his jacket … before putting it back in. No, if he got drunk he’d be more vulnerable than if he was sober, plus he should be sober, for Luke. 

It was getting a little hard to breathe, was it hot in here? Why were the lights so bright? Everything is so loud too- and suffocating- and it's all just- spinning- 

He flinched when someone touched his shoulder, and turned to see Aurora, with a sort of sad look on her face. He did feel a little more calm seeing her, someone familiar, with heels they were about the same height now. She was wearing a black romper dress with a loooong tail. Hopefully nobody tripped on it or something.

“Hey- uh … are you here alone?” she asked, and Clive realized he was just staring, he took a breath. “Ah- No- Luke’s here- he’s in the bathroom …" He motioned to the door. His chest sort of hurt now, he wondered if he was sick or something.

“ oh … i see-" She said, and Clive looked away, "So what's up? I mean- I haven't seen you in a while-"

“Oh. I know- I-I’d like to apologize ..” Aurora said, twirling her fingers around each other. She seemed nervous, which made Clive a little skeptical. 

“For what?” 

She pushed her hair out of her face. “Well- for using you that one time- and .. other things- and not talking to you much after that, I was embarrassed- I’m sorry- but- I just want you to know that you don’t have anything to worry about here-! I don’t know why, but after seeing a few things, I just figured if you showed up here there might be certain consequences, you know? N-not like I predicted the future or anything- like a witch or something- I-I’m being weird- I’m sorry-” She said, and Clive just shook his head. She cleared her throat, “So I took care of it … I know I already apologized but I just want to say sorry again- for anything I might have done-” 

“ um ..” Clive shrugged, “you mean in the closet? I didn’t mind-" He said, and she looked at him in a sort of confused, yet relieved way. “Really? Because I was pretty sure i hurt you on accident- I’d never seen you cry before that and you just- seemed like you were holding back how much it hurt-”

“I- it’s fine...” Clive waved it off, "I would have told you to stop if it hurt- I was just-" He cleared his throat, "it's nothing- alright-?"

“...  _ are you sure?  _ It’s just- well just because it didn’t hurt, or it doesn’t hurt right now- that doesn’t mean it’s not damaging- you’ve really been alright since then?”

“...  _ yeah- it’s fine- _ ”

“You can say it’s not, you know- I’m serious- You didn’t even wake up after! I had t-”

“It’s fine!! It’s fine it’s fine and It’s really  _ really  _ embarrassing! Most of the time I just pretend like it didn’t happen- n-not to say it was a bad experience! I just- Don’t wanna think about it more than I have to!” 

“So you liked it?”

“I- That’s a really complicated question- It’s not something i really talk about- or normally do with anyone I just-” Clive shook his head, trying to calm down. “Look, I’m alright- You didn’t hurt me or anything, I swear, we’re cool ..”

“I know, that’s why I have to apologize, I knew but I still took advantage of you-”

“Dude I wouldn’t have done it if I didn’t want to, in fact it kind of helped me. Honestly, it’s been a confusing year …  _ why are you apologizing so much-? _ ” 

“Well- it’s-” She did a hand motion, “ We’re friends, right? I just …” She shrugged, “I don’t see you much and It felt like I should say something before it’s too late- the guilt was killing me, You were the first person to really be nice to me and I just didn’t want … to be a bad friend.” She wrapped it up. Clive just nodded, and looked over at the bathroom door. “I- guess.” he said. “I know you mean the end of the year but you make it sound like I’ve got a terminal illness .. Um- so- How come you don’t have that forehead gem thing?” he quickly changed the subject, and she reached up into her hair, pulling it out. 

“Oh-” he looked at it, and it sparkled. It was always a little distracting ..

“I’d wear it out, but I don’t like the attention- and I’d rather not get made fun of while I’m here- I just want to have fun, you know?” 

“I- guess-” Clive leaned against the table. “ I don’t think you should care all that much, I went a really long time without glasses or braces for the same reasons, and yea people make fun of you, but they get used to it after a while”

“Hm … you just want to make fun of me or something- don’t you?”

“...  _ maybe” _

“Hmf-” She crossed her arms, and he gave a sigh of a laugh. “So who are you here with?”

“Celeste-”

“Oh ..”

“She has a thing for me, but I’m not too sure if I like her back anymore …”

“Oh-”

“She’s been getting more and more attached lately too, and I know it’s my own fault but I didn’t expect it to go this far- and now I’m not even sure what to do-”

“Ohh… you can’t break it off?”

“If I break it off who knows what she’ll do? She’s probably already suspicious of me since I’ve been around her so much and it’s not … I- I still have feelings for her but it’s just complicated by other things-”

“... Like what?”

“...” Celeste looked down, uncomfortably rubbing her arms. “She’s … got this habit of taking pictures of people … I’m not sure- why- but- um.” She cleared her throat, “well, they’re naked pictures- to be specific …” Celeste clenched her fists. “Sometimes I’m not sure what to make of it, maybe it’s just something I can’t understand since I don’t care much for that sort of thing … but- she said she didn’t either, so it- makes me think she just has some obsession with the human body … or at least one in specific ” 

“ so she really was the one who took those pictures?” Clive scratched the back of his head, “ when-  _ Linda-  _ interrogated her about it I kind of thought she was lying- just telling her what she wanted to hear ..”

“ mm … I just don’t know what to do, maybe I’m just jealous it’s not me she’s taking pictures of.” 

Clive looked down, “I don’t know- I’m not good with this kind of thing, but If it was me I’d just be upset she was looking at anyone else like that, and taking pictures. Seems like she likes them a whole lot more than me, you know?”

“...” Celeste sighed, the bags under her eyes starting to deepen, “Do you think anyone could ever actually like me?” She asked. “Be honest, I know there’s a lot left to be desired but I really thought …”

Clive looked at her  _ oh shit she looks like she’s gonna cry- what does he say?  _ “Well - Desmond likes everyone-  _ wait no- he’s with Emmy-  _ uh-” 

“I’m not asking to be paired up with anyone- I’m just asking for  _ your  _ opinion ..” Celeste said. 

“... I mean- I still think you’re pretty hot but I’d have to get used to .. you-” He said. “I think …” He sighed, “you’re kinda cool- You’ve got this icy vibe to you-”   
  


“...” She nodded, “I see- so you think I’m cold-” 

“T-That’s not what I’m saying! You’ve got a cool personality- Like a silent type- you know? Ughh don’t listen to me, okay? Doesn’t Dahlia always say her friends don’t have to care or whatever? She’s not the one who needs people to protect her so she’s probably got better advice on how to be likeable than I do-” Clive said. Celeste shook her head, “We’re not friends. Being a cheerleader protects me from bullies, but I’m not really friends with any of those girls … in fact I kind of hate them.” 

“Oh .. wait huh? Why be around them, then?” 

“Again, I want to be left alone. It’s just easier this way- and I look a lot more feminine when I’m next to other women- so people pick on me less for being flat chested, or having a deeper voice- I get to just … exist.” 

“...” Clive nodded, “Your voice sounds normal to me ..”

“Because I’m making it that way-” 

“Well- either way. Don’t worry about it. You’re likeable- If I can like you someone else definitely can.” Clive said, thinking that maybe if someone else did get with her she’d be happy. She seemed happy enough though. “So those pictures …  _ are they of me? _ ” Clive asked, and Celeste looked away, “what makes you say that?” 

“Come on …” 

“I .. see- Sorry- I just …” Celeste sighed, “I should have done something sooner, I knew something was wrong but I just-” she shook her head. “I’m not used to- helping? Anyone? Not like this-”

“It’s fine- I feel kind of bad that you feel like you should protect me or something- but I appreciate you looking out … speaking of- Can you go check on Luke? He’s been in there for a while and I’m getting kind of worried-” 

“Yeah- don’t worry” she said, walking past him, hearing a quick ‘thanks' before she opened the door, seeing Luke was anxiously pacing around in the bathroom. He then burst out of the bathroom past her. She watched as Luke threw himself at one of Clive’s legs, and then started looking around the table…

She started to approach him again, but … she just looked away, and walked off. 

“I wonder if they have that super fancy lemon cake!” 

“L-Luke-”

“Or red velvet- The school’s food is always so good!” Luke said. Clive just watched him … he followed, deciding to keep quiet as Luke went on and on about cake, and pie. It reminded Clive of that first day they met, and Clive came home to see Luke asleep in his bed, cake crumbs on his face and an open bottle of stolen apple juice. He watched Luke pick up little square bits of cake …

“You’re gonna be fat-” Clive said, and Luke stopped, looking down at himself … “You’ll just have to get used to it then-” He said, seeing a tray full of … slime? “Hey- what are these?” He asked, wiping his mouth. Clive motioned to the tray, “They’re oysters- I wouldn’t eat them if I were you-” 

“Why not?” Luke asked, picking one up. Clive started to explain, “Well, the school can make all the cake they want, but we’re pretty far away from the ocean- so to get any sea … food- uh- L-Luke-” He stopped, watching Luke start eating them without even listening. He put his hand over the boy’s. 

“Uh- d-do you wanna dance?” He asked, just trying to get him to stop eating stuff. 

Luke shook his head, “I wanna wait until they start playing slow songs!” He said, “but- what do people usually do at prom?” 

“... talk-” Clive said, “talk a lot- that’s all rich people do at parties-” he sighed. 

“Talk about what?” 

“Gossip, talk shit about people- vent- pretend like you’re better than everyone else.” 

“Ohh … oh?” Luke tilted his head, “Gossip- Like- Dahlia has tissues in her bra-?” 

Clive looked at Luke, and tried not to show any kind of amusement, “ _ she what? _ Really?” 

Luke nodded, “And I’m only telling you this because she said something really mean about you-” 

“She- did?” 

Luke nodded, “the cheerleaders wouldn’t stop talking about you and they couldn’t focus so she started saying things like ‘ _ oh he’s not even that great- all he really does is cry and complain, and he’s always wearing that stupid cardigan sweater it doesn’t even go with anything bla bla bla!’ _ I got tired of it- So she stuffs her bra full of tissue …” Luke said, eating a piece of cheese from off the counter. 

Clive sighed .. “of course, why’s that always the first thing people say about me? It's either I’m skinny or I always wear that sweater-” 

“Why DO you always wear it?”

“It’s my mom’s- so I’m always gonna wear it.” Clive said, “every day, for the rest of my life.” 

“... that’s weird- is that why you wore it when we went home?”

“I don’t care if it’s weird- and yes-” 

“Hmm what if something happens to it? You should let me make you a new one and you can put that one up somewhere where it’s safe!” 

Clive took a second to think about it, a sweater that Luke made … “wait a second, since when can you make clothes?” He asked, watching as Luke proudly put his hands on his hips. “I can do all sorts of things!  _ You just don’t know cause you don’t ask- _ ” He said, getting a smile from the other. “That’s kind of cute- what other things can you do?” 

“I’m good at making babies stop crying, I can bake- and I’ve got the best sense of fashion. I don't _ care who says what! _ ”

“oh- so basically you’ve got mom powers-” 

“I-” Luke paused, and thought about it, “mom powers … ” He repeated, taking another toothpick from the table. 

“Are you hungry or something?”

“Mm- All the food here is just soooo good! I can’t stop!” 

“Well- You might want to slow down a little- what if you puke?”

“I won’t! As long as you don’t do anything weird-”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Desmond was finally here, having spent the last two hours trying to convince Emmy not to wear such an elaborate dress. When she woke up they ended up going shopping anyways, “just for fun” she said. Of course it was yellow, but it was covered in literal- actual diamonds, and so incredibly huge that he was forced to stay at least five feet away from her, which was the real reason he hated it. Not just because it was worth enough to pay a lifetime of debt no matter how much it was,  _ but because he kept tripping over it.  _

But that was the main reason she liked it, seemingly. 

It didn’t stop them from getting there though, the second they came through the door, the lights had been dimmed, “We’re so late!” Emmy whined, so clearly anxious about what time it might be. Desmond came in a few seconds after her, wondering why she looked so upset. She’d braided his hair into one long braid, and made him take his glasses off, so he couldn’t see that well. It didn’t make it any better when he was suddenly pulled into the middle of the floor, past six feet of dress fabric, nearly tripping and falling face first onto the floor before he was caught in the arms of Emmy. 

He paused, and stared up at her, seeing her unimpressed expression. “What are you doing?!” She asked, and he got up. “ Sorry- Just- I really need my glasses-” He nervously laughed, asking for them for what was probably the fiftieth time that night. 

“No you don’t- You’re not THAT blind! Clive doesn’t wear his-” 

“I am! I can’t see up close! I’m farsighted- Clive can get away with being nearsighted but I  **need** my glasses-” Dez stressed the last part as much as he could, not getting much of a response besides a bored look, “And stop comparing me to him-  _ please- _ We’re two different people- If you like him more then just go for it already but you should know by now how I feel- Hearing you say his name all the time is-just- nevermind ..” He sighed. “So are you gonna go vote for yourself or something?”

“Why are you getting so serious?” Emmy said, and He let out a short sigh, thinking about it for a second. “I don’t know…” He said, putting his hands around her waist. “She smiled, “Did I  _ finally  _ make you mad?” she teased, getting a defeated, “yes” as she put her arms around his shoulders. “Is that what you’ve been trying to do? I thought you were just like this-” He said, and she shrugged. “You’re just so weird, you’re never upset- I figured it’d be funny to finally make you mad-” 

“Funny …” He sighed, “well what then? Are you gonna get bored?” He asked, and she subtly smirked before it went away. “Don’t worry about that- You’re far from boring ..” 

“Really?” Dez asked, “It’s hard to tell since I can’t see your face but- you really mean that?”

“Yes- You’re-” She cleared her throat, and looked away, “sometimes- under very specific circumstances-  _ on very specific days ... fun _ to be around-” 

“...”

“.. d- don’t stare at me- creep.” Emmy said, “that’s the last time I ever say anything nice about you, you weirdo-” 

“I’m- trying to see if you’re laughing or not-” Dez sighed, “but fine- just- do me a favor?”

“What-” Emmy crossed her arms.

“Promise you won’t punch me for the next- uh- two minutes?”

“Why specifically two minutes?”

“Just- two minutes-”

“fine-”

“You swear?”

“Yeah?” She said, before being pulled down into his arms. At first she thought he was about to trip her up, and that’s why he didn’t want her to hit him back. It felt like she was falling, so She held onto him, fully intending to take him down too, before a mouth connected to her own and it all stopped. In an instant, she went from being angry, about to say something, instinctually closing her eyes as she held onto his arms. It was over faster than it started, “Don’t hit me- don’t hit me don’t hit me-” Dez said, standing her up like a plank of wood before backing away. She looked at him … before raising her closed fist. Her body felt stiff, but ..

“If you do hit me- just know I’m sorry!” He said, not moving, preparing to just take the hit, preferring that to running and being surprise drop kicked. She put her hand down, and looked down at the floor, “mm.” She squinted at his shoes, before holding her arms out. “Come back, quit being a pussy, I’m not gonna hit you-” She said. He hesitantly moved, a hand interlocking with his own as her head pressed against his chest. 

It was quiet, before he heard her mumble something. 

“Um- what?”

“I- I said-” She gripped his suit’s jacket, “Shave-” 

“That’s not what you said-” 

“So then you heard me and you’re just trying to embarrass me or something? Is that it? Do you wanna die?!” 

“Well- no- but I know that wasn’t it-” 

“Fine! I said- well- ugh- I feel bad asking now- _you should ask me out_ _instead-_ ” She said. 

“And get rejected again?” 

“I- I’m gonna say yes! WHy would I be asking you to do the one thing I’ve been telling you to stop doing just so I can tell you not to do it again?!” She said. Dez looked down at her, He never thought he’d see her be so embarrassed by something. 

“Check your bra-”

“My ...  **what** ?” She turned away, and reached into her shirt. Tucked in between the fabric of the dress itself and the lacey outside exterior, on her chest, there was another flower ring. 

She pulled it out, and looked at him .. He was so proud of himself.

“Ta daa-”

“I’m-  **going to punch you** ” 

“My love! Will you-” 

“How many of these goddamn rings do you have.” She said, “and  **when the fuck do you keep putting them on me** ” 

“I- ah- Well It’s just sorta something I can do- I’m good at sleight of hand- you see-” He said, pointing to her hand. She looked … and Clenched her fist. “ _ That’s so creepy- I didn’t even feel you touch me!  _ That’s not even possible! How can you put something on someone’s finger without them seeing or feeling it! You didn’t even move!” 

“Like I said- I’m good at it-”

“...  _ wait- _ Oh my god! Why didn’t you ever tell me you could do that?!”

“Y-you just said it was creepy-” 

“Nevermind that! You can help me out with something-” 

“I’m not- sure if I want to-” Dez nervously said. 

“Pleaase- Don’t you wanna be a good boyfriend?”

“ _ Im in- _ ”

“Right- So- all you need to do is-” 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Luke sat down, his shoes off as Clive sat next to him. Most people were drunk by now, trying to hide it. A few of them had gone home, but Luke was having a little too much fun. He ended up needing to take his shoes off, dancing for so long made him tired but he refused to leave. 

"I hate rich people-" Luke whined, still eating the little square cakes that were on the counter. "You're in a place with so much luxury food and you don't want any of it, and you don't want me to eat it- at least try some.."

"You're gonna pop. But hey- if we stick around for a little bit longer we get to see the prom king and queen- after that they usually play a few more slow songs- and then it's over-" Clive said, leaning back in the chair. 

".. you were so scared before- but now look! You're perfectly fine!" Luke said, and Clive nodded. "I talked to a friend earlier and she told me something that made me feel a little better-"

" **Who is she** "

"Calm down it's not like that- i've only got room for one midget in my life-" 

Luke crossed his arms, "I'll grow .." he said. Clive just smiled, "yeah .. so who do you think it's gonna be?" He put his head down on the table. Luke smiled, "What if it's you and me?" 

"Hm .. I don't know- what if-" 

  
  


_ M-may I have your attention? Please- _

A voice called out, and Luke looked up to the middle of the room, seeing Aurora there with a microphone. Clive looked at her … and suddenly his heart dropped, but he couldn't quite guess what was so wrong with the moment. 

She stood there, under a spotlight, people made room for her as she walked to the very center of the room. 

"P- Prom is an important time of year for all of us- it's the one day when we sort of get to act like adults- and be treated that way. They give us this building, and all of these nice things, and tell us to just have fun- it's the one day where we get to make moments that are worth remembering … u-uh-" she clenched the microphone. 

Luke seemed extremely happy to see her trying to break out of her silence, but he wondered if this was a little much. 

"It's at this time- that we all get to pick two people that mean a lot to the school, who knows why they were chosen? Maybe because they're pretty- or popular- but they represent something about this school. Be it good or bad, it's a chance for some to prove that they matter … s-so- uhh-" She lifted a card. "I'd like to present our prom king and queen, based o-on majority vote- the king is-" 

Luke's eyes went wide when he heard his own name, and a spotlight was suddenly on him. 

He didn't expect to win, he'd been sitting there stuffing his face with cake, but he quickly wiped it off, turning red before standing up on his feet. 

Clive smiled, "oh wow- Luke-" he said, wondering if his little boyfriend was okay. Luke was still rubbing his face, though there shouldn't be anything on it. 

"And our queen, E ..  _ what- _ um- Emmy Altava?" She looked at the note card, "I .. suppose that must be correct .." She mumbled to herself, and Emmy squealed from across the room. Desmond had a guilty, yet happy look on his face, she just seemed so excited to be crowned queen. 

"you two, um- to celebrate your victories, we have a crown for our king, and a tiara for our queen. They're made of real 24K gold, absolutely irreplaceable … u-um- so- please come up and accept your gifts, and let this moment be an irreplaceable victory for you" she turned the mic off as someone came up behind her with two pillows … Celeste. 

Clive looked at her, and she turned her head, giving him a blank stare .. she smiled, and he looked down, listening to Luke's light footsteps as he walked up to get his crown. 

Eventually Clive fought his discomfort and looked up, unable to feel anything but happiness as Luke cried, and wrapped his arms around Celeste. It was clear he never expected to win, but to Clive it made sense .. Luke was always nice, he was cute, he was popular, smart, athletic, everyone liked him. 

The most popular guy in school, really. 

… there was a sting of irony there, Something that made Clive even more happy. Who would have thought things would turn out this way? 

He heard a few gasps, and Looked up to see that Luke had finally done it, puking all over the floor as tears rolled down his face. Clive stood, okay, he saw this coming but he really should have done something sooner. Emmy’s scream was evidence enough that it was time to leave.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Luke whimpered as he sat in the tub, having filled it up with water. It was early in the morning, and Clive was generously giving him a bath since he felt pretty sick. 

The floor was littered in clothes, and a red stained bed sheet. 

"It hurrts-" Luke groaned, holding his stomach as Clive gently combed through his wet hair. "I'll get you some pain medicine .." he said. Luke started to reply, before looking down into the water, seeing Clive's facial expression. His eyes were blank, and his face was relaxed, it was almost like he wasn't even in there anymore. He'd been quiet all morning, and While Luke's stomach really did hurt, he was getting a little worried. 

He looked up, and Clive gave him a gentle smile, "hm?"

" .. you're being weird-"

"What do you mean?"

"You're all happy all of a sudden- you weren't like that a second ago …" Luke said. Clive just looked at him .. before shaking his head, "I was just thinking about something-" He said.

"About what?" 

"About … well, this is your first year, but it's my last .. I guess I was just thinking about whether or not I'd miss it all- the attention- and then I just realized …" Clive shook his head. "It's just- I'm not really worth anything … I was liked because I had all these party tricks- the singing- the dancing- but you're liked for just being yourself." Clive said. "And now look at you- you've passed me in grades- in popularity- in status- everything- I'm not sure if it's jealousy or what but I .." 

".." Luke leaned up, kissing Clive's cheek. "I'll always like you .." Luke said, making Clive turn red. It was quiet for a while, Luke wondered what Clive was thinking about as he held his hand to his cheek. " I just- you're the one that's sick- why are you always worrying about me?! I’m always complaining, I’ll be fine!” Clive said. “I’m way more worried about you and the way you were crying, I’ve never seen you so happy about anything-” He smiled. “And now you’ve got this expensive piece of jewelry, a pure gold crown, it’s probably worth at least seventeen thousand-” Clive said. “For some people that’s a year’s salary- what are you going to do with it?” He asked, and Luke looked down at the water, letting Clive rinse his hair. 

“.. keep it.” Luke said, “I’ll put it somewhere safe … Like she said, it’s irreplaceable.” Luke opened his eyes, looking down into the water’s reflection. He looked at Clive’s face, already back to normal ..

“And what would I do without it ..” 

“Hm? I don’t know, I kind of thought you’d sell it-” 

“Sell- o-oh- right- the crown-” 

“.. are you okay?”

“I’m fine! It was the oysters!” 


	36. V day

Clive held onto Desmond, shuffling down the sidewalk with his friend hanging onto his shoulder. He was helping him walk to the nurse, keeping him from scratching the rapidly forming rashes on his arms.

Nurse was an understatement, she was a full blown doctor, the school had its own clinic, but since it was a school, people just preferred to call her the nurse. 

“Why- does it burn?-” Dez groaned, probably starting to pass out. Clive ignored his complaints, and continued to walk, not wanting to think about the possibility of him getting seriously hurt.

Valentines day, usually the day of love, happiness, and fornication for those who were fortunate enough to have a romantic partner. For those who weren’t though, it was the day of rejection, of sitting alone in your room with a bottle of lotion or your favorite BL audio, and rubbing away your tears .. 

But there was a secret third option, and for Desmond, it involved being given poison oak flowers, which brought Clive to his aid this morning when he was on his way to the store. He'd stepped out and found Dez stumbling around in the middle of the streets. “Dez … we gotta talk-” Clive said. The long haired male just looked up, unsure why this talking giraffe was calling him by his nickname, “wha?"

“Listen .. I’m-  _ worried- _ okay? I mean- are you sure she doesn’t … hate you?” Clive asked. It was becoming more and more common for Dez to somehow wind up injured after coming back, blood and all.

“I’m .. positive- you just don’t get to see her good side- she’s really- nice on the- inside-” he stopped walking, and Clive was weighed down by his body. He huffed, “You fucking- beef head- god! Get up!” 

“You’re so weak- Clive- you scared~?” Dez teased, giggling quietly as the world around him changed colors.

“No! You’re just- heavy!!” Clive said, dropping him. Desmond groaned,”I’m gonna be fine- Honey, You won’t lose me over some plants-”

“I’m not scared!” Clive kicked him, and he groaned, mumbling that his head hurt, Clive could basically see the rashes spreading across his arms, he almost didn’t want to touch him anymore. Valentines day, a day of love, right? Well, maybe if you’re normal.

Clive grabbed his arms, dragging him along the ground, onto the sidewalk, and into the nurse’s building. The entire building was like a clinic, a small structure that had nothing but beds and a small desk in it. 

The nurse seemed to be busy caring for another boy, she was sitting in a stool next to one of the beds. Clive could only wonder what had happened to him. He shoved Dez onto one of the beds, “he might need to go to the hospital- his arm is really starting to break ..” Clive looked over to see the nurse, giggling with Anthony. 

Anthony. 

It took him a second to realize that was what he was looking at, but when he saw who it was he nearly let his hands speak for him.

Dez grabbed Clive’s wrist before he could move, “Auntiiieeee” He mumbled, and she looked over. 

“Oh! Jesus what happened to you?” She asked, finally looking away from the other, who seemed irritated by their presence. “Can’t you see we’re busy?”

“Can’t you see he’s got a problem?!” Clive snapped back. 

“Many-” Anthony smiled, and Dez spoke up.

“I touched some flowers- Is it possible to be- allergic to …” He stopped moving, and Clive looked down at him. 

“D- Dez-?” He asked, shaking him a little. Dez didn’t respond, and Clive immediately got worried. 

He started to say something, but Desmond stopped him, a hazy smile on his face as he seemingly woke up, “hahaaaa … Just kidding- you’re so cute-” He said, absently poking Clive’s stomach. 

Clive slapped him, clenching his fist, resisting the urge to hit him for real as the nurse walked over, “Oh no- You two should step out, rashes like these can spread from person to person- you go wash your hands right now-” 

“I-” Clive started to say something, before he heard Anthony mumble something about a Heathen that doesn’t bathe either way. After that, he found himself calmly walking out, Smiling at the nurse on his way, “I- I’ll- Be back later- Alright?” 

“Yeah ..” Dez waved at him, and Clive shut the door, turning his attention towards Anthony, who was looking right at him. Clive has walked out with the intention to kick his life away from him, but now that he was here, he wasn’t quite too sure if it would even be worth it.

“ There you go again, why are you here? To ruin  _ another  _ relationship?” Anthony asked, getting a head shake from Clive. He crossed his arms, leaning up against the door with a slow sigh, “Just leave us alone, I heard Sophia came back, are you cheating on her or something?” 

“Hm? What makes you think we got back together? That ship has sailed and crashed, thanks to you- I just like talking to the nurse .. or what? Can you not imagine being friends with a woman without some barbaric sexual intimacy involved? You’re such a child-”

“Fuck off- you litterally just said you were in a relationship-”

“Relationships include friendships, A relationship is any bond you have with another person- You and I have a relationship-”

“Gay-”

“You’re so- childish- It’s infuriating! How does anyone put up with you?!” Anthony sighed, pushing his hair back, damn near sparkling as he gave a smug smile. His face still had bruises on it, though they were covered in makeup, Clive remembered exactly where he hit him, every time he did. That’s one thing he’d never forget. “I can’t wait until you two leave, I mean, honestly- Trying to escape you at this point- it’s driving me mad, it’s like you’re everywhere-”

Clive looked away, and Anthony looked at him, wondering what he was being so uncharacteristically quiet for. He looked down at the ground, and then back up at Clive, “The baby is healthy-” He said. 

“ .. oh-” was all Clive could say.  _ Jesus christ what the fuck, how uncomfortable.  _

“I just thought you’d like to know … unlike you, I considered the fact that maybe you think about it … if you even care.” Anthony said. Clive felt- bad? No- not bad- guilty … but he didn’t really know what to think. He couldn’t figure out why Anthony suddenly seemed so personally offended, he figured it was just the fact that his baby wasn’t his own, maybe it was because Clive hadn’t ever said anything, maybe it was the two times he beat him up, but .. no- this wasn’t anger coming from it- so what was it?

Clive couldn’t figure it out to save his life, even when his eyes met the blonde’s blue ones .. the only thing he could think to say was the only thing on his mind. 

“I’m sorry ..” 

An apology, and that was it. He went silent almost immediately, those words had come out almost automatically, but the longer time went by, the more he really felt like he meant it. He was sorry. Was this what Alfendi meant? It felt like he finally understood. 

“ .. i-” Anthony looked away, “didn’t expect that-”

“Yeah well I didn’t expect what you said either-” Clive huffed, “Seriously, what the fuck? Read the room-” 

“What room? We’re outside- and it was better now than never- Wouldn’t want you coming back because of uncertainty, would I?” Anthony kicked a rock, and sighed… He glared at the gravel on the ground, hands in his pockets as he lifted his head. “Was that a genuine apology, or is this your new way of tormenting me?” He asked. 

“I meant it- or- I mean it …” Clive said.

“ .. i’m ..” Anthony started to say something, but it failed. 

Clive cringed at the sound of his voice, was he about to cry? He listened to Anthony as he tried to get out whatever was in his head, Things seemed to escalate until he was hiding his face in his shirt, moving away, “Utterly disgusting- You are utterly disgusting- I can’t believe-” The guy wiped his face. “I was so terrible- She’d pick something so unapologetically grotesque over me-” 

“ It’s-”

“No- Shut up! You have no idea!” Anthony said, “It’s because of you we’re not together- It’s because of you things feel so wrong- It’s because of you-” He choked, “The one thing I tried to do on purpose, without the care of what anyone else would think- the one time I put my supposed vanity aside, and what do you do? You steal it from me-” 

“I-” 

“It’s not enough- Sorry isn’t enough ..”

“...” Clive sighed, “I’m really sorry then-” He said, looking away. It was quiet again, before Anthony started to laugh. “Childish ..” He said, wiping his face. Clive was sort of disturbed by the look of his face without makeup, he could see all of the bruises and scrapes. His nose was still slightly purple, and now his eyes were red. 

“Really though, I’m sorry-” Clive said, “I shouldn’t have- done any of that- ugh- I hate trying to admit this- Alfendi was fucking right- I hate that dickhead so much-” He clenched his teeth.

“... You shouldn’t be upset with him, I’m the reason- I- made an offer he couldn’t say no to- he wouldn’t have hurt you otherwise. I’m- sorry- I really-” Anthony cried, “Even that decision made her leave! She would have stayed had she not been so afraid- and I can’t blame her- who would ever trust someone who does a thing like that? I’m sorry- I’m so sorry!” He said. 

“Uh- are you-?”

“Please- maybe if she sees you forgive me she won’t be upset anymore-”

“Uh-”

“It’s all i’m asking- just tell her things between you and I are fine-”

“Get- off of me!” Clive tried to push him away, his gross face was leaking tears and snot all over him as he sobbed, arms wrapped around his waist. 

“The weight of the full moon can’t begin to compare to the weight of my guilt-! My shoulders have cracked and fallen to the ground- along with my pride! Please! I beg of you- Have mercy-!” 

“ …” Clive cringed, before hesitantly wrapping his arms around Anthony. “L- Listen- man- I- It’s not like we still talk on a regular everyday basis- in fact- she doesn’t really like me either- It’s not going to make her want you back-” 

“You speak as if you know the answer! Tell me! Or I’ll have Alfendi stick his-”

“Fucking shut up!” Clive Elbowed Anthony in the face, and he fell onto the ground. “I don’t know what you expect me to do! I’m sorry I fucked up your relationship- But If you want her to like you then maybe start acting more like someone she should care about! Don’t fucking start grabbing me and crying and getting your gross ass tears all on my clothes- threatening to have shit done to me- what the fuck is wrong with you? Right after you just said you were sorry!” Clive said. “If you wanna know the truth, You might as well get over it, I wouldn’t be surprised if she was done with guys completely with the way you are. No wonder ..” Clive decided to end it there, not seeing any reason why he needed to keep talking about it right in front of him.

“I can’t help you … but- I can tell you everything she complained about, so at least you know what not to do. You can tell her we’re cool- and if she asks, I’ll back it up- that’s all I can do for you-” Clive said, and Anthony looked up, “You would do that?” He asked, a huge bruise on his forehead. 

“ … yeah .. but if I was you, I’d get with the nurse, seems like you need her with how easily you bruise-” 

“That’s- your fault- You dunce ..” Anthony sighed, still crying. “I still remember when you and I used to be friends-” He said through his tears.

“.. well- that one is my fault ... “ Clive sighed, “Just- get up already- stop acting like a bitch ..”

Valentine's day, the Day of love, right? 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Luke sat still on his bed, wondering when Clive would be back. He said he was just going out to get a few things while Luke was cooking, saying he’d be back soon … but he was already too late. Clark was here, because of course he would show up to spoil his precious Luke on valentines day.

“Daaaad stop touching things!” Luke said, crossing his arms as Clark sat down at their little table. “I’m just- so happy to see you again- I can’t wait until you see what I got you for valentines day-” 

“You need to go home! What about mom?” 

“Eh? She left a while ago-” He said, as if It wasn’t that big of a deal.

“... Dad- you don’t care where she is? Where she could be? What if she never comes back? What if she hates you for ignoring her all the time?”

“Oh Lukey, these things are far too grown-up for you to understand just yet, trust me, she’ll come back. She always does.” 

“...” Luke stood, “I- I hate you!” He yelled, “Both of you are acting like little kids! Mom has been here for the past month- living with me and  _ my  _ boyfriend! And I can’t do anything about it! And you don’t care! I love my mom- I’m happy she’s around- But I want to be alone!!” Luke yelled. “And it’s your fault she’s always running away! You say the same things every time-  _ Oh she’ll be back- Oh she doesn’t mind- _ If she didn’t mind- then she wouldn’t leave! You’re not even scared- not even a little bit- and I’m the one who has to feel bad because of the stupid way you want to act-” Luke cried, and Clark … got up.

“Luke - I-” He said, before sighing … 

“You really don’t understand, Your mother and I have a very complex relationship, it might seem like I don’t care-” He stepped over the clothes on the floor, and picked Luke up, sitting down with him. “But it’s truly not like that, your mother doesn’t like all of that attention, she may seem upset, but- big gestures and affection isn’t necessarily her thing-” He explained.

Luke wiped his face, and Clark smiled. “So I give all of my love and attention to you- but I guess it’s not your thing either, is it? You really are her son-” He said, and Luke huffed. “I have Clive to do all of that stuff for me- he can afford to spoil me like that- and- Just because mom doesn’t like big gestures- that doesn’t mean she doesn’t notice the small things ..” Luke said. 

Clark nodded, “Yes, I know- I’ll try and be more wary of that- but I assure you- If there was really something wrong, I would know- I love her. Plain and simple … But I love you too!” He said, nuzzling Luke. “You haven’t grown at all this year so far either! You’re so cute!”

“Dad stoop!!” Luke squirmed, unable to get out of his grasp. “I have to finish making my chocolate!” He said, “Clive will be here any second now- and I haven’t gotten anything done because of you-” He got up, walking over to the stove. He had a steaming pot of brown fluid on top of the burner, but he’d yet to actually put in what he was calling his secret ingredient. 

“What is that, you’ve got?” 

“Some sweet stuff I made with a fruit- I think it makes people fall in love- whenever I let someone try it- they start acting all weird-” 

“ … and- you’re going to give that to him?”

“Yup! And then we’ll be together forever.” Luke said, dumping the syrupy sweetener into it. He was putting in … a lot, Clark wondered if it was poisonous, but he decided to just pretend he had no idea. “Well, I hope it works- I doubt you’d need it though-” 

“I don’t- but still- it’s good to have insurance! You never know when some tall lady with long hair and big boobs and thighs will come along and steal him away from me-” 

“... or- it could be some short boy with a cute face-” 

“That’s even worse! Beaten at my own game!” Luke whined, making Clark chuckle a little bit before He got up. “Well … your mother is here- you say? I should go and find her, shouldn’t I?” 

“Yeah, She likes to hang out by the pool and watch the boys swim team.”

“... _ ah-  _ “ Clark started to walk, “that doesn’t sound too good- I’d better go-” 

“Byee! If You see Clive tell him Luke said to come home already!!” Luke insisted, and Clark gave him a nod, “I’ll drag him back myself if I have to-'' He said. Luke watched him leave, dumping more of the fruit extract into his chocolate. He didn’t want to overdo it- so he left it at that, and started to put it into its mold so he could freeze it. He could barely wait to see Clive’s reaction to it, hopefully it tasted good. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Clive stared up at the ceiling, having somehow managed to get on the same bus as Dahlia and Flora in the middle of their argument. One thing after another, he was tired, but they were noticeably upset with each other. 

“First you don’t wanna go to prom! Now you don’t wanna celebrate valentine's day?!” Flora said, and Dahlia crossed her arms, “For the last time! I don’t like valentines day!” 

“But why not?!” 

“I don’t have to tell you  _ Everything  _ Flora!” 

“But you should! I’m your sister and you keep ignoring me! It makes me feel super bad- Like I did something wrong when I didn’t!” She said, Holding onto Clive’s arm like he was supposed to punch away the bad feelings or something. He’d just sort of become their stress ball, Dahlia kept punching him in the arm, it didn’t hurt, he just … it would have been nice if they’d asked or something. 

“Just because I don’t tell you everything- that doesn’t mean I don’t love you- or you did something wrong! You’re overreacting!” 

“I’m not!” Flora squealed, “If something is wrong then I wanna know! I want to be closer! I want to know stuff like this! It’s not fair!” 

“Ugh-” Dahlia huffed, “I’ll tell you when I’m ready to tell you! You know what? You can be a little annoying sometimes!” She said, and Flora looked at her, eyes full of tears as her face turned red. The bus stopped, and Clive got up, Flora still hanging onto his arm. 

“Take me with you! I don’t want to be around this meanie anymore!” Flora said … and Clive just walked off, thinking maybe her little arms would get tired and she’d fall eventually. Dahlia followed after them, of course. 

“And just where are you going?!” Dahlia asked, getting a tired sound from Clive. “Home.” 

“Leave flora here!” 

“Come get her-” Clive stopped, watching as Dahlia tried her best to pry the girl from his side. Flora just swatted at Dahlia’s hands, until she accidentally broke one of her nails, and the three of them ceased to make any sounds. 

Clive looked down at both of them, before he started to walk again, hearing Dahlia immediately start screaming about how expensive a single one of her nails were. 

“Damn it Flora! I don’t suppose you have any money to pay for this?!” She asked, and Flora stuck her tongue out at her, “ Why don’t you go ask your- BOYFRIEND!” She yelled. 

“What boyfriend?” 

“Henry! You two are always hanging out together without me!” 

“Flora- Are you joking? I use that Social landmine to do my homework- nothing more! I don’t even like boys! And I could do a lot better than  _ King Henry- Bleh- _ ” 

Flora stuck her nose up, “Well that’s not what your diary said!” 

“Uh-” Clive stopped. “As funny as this is- It’s not my business- I just- wanna go home-” 

“You read my diary! How dare you!” Dahlia completely ignored him. 

Flora glared at her, “I did! And You said he looked nice one day! That proves it!” 

“... Ohhh- Nonono- Flora-” Dahlia said, “I wasn’t talking about Henry- I was talking about you!” 

“But you said it! I remember it word for word!  _ Henry Came over today, He was wearing a black blazer, but I like pink ones way better! _ You said you liked his pink blazer!” 

“I was talking about yours!” 

“...” Flora let go of Clive, and he walked off before they could involve him any further. “Really?” Flora said, and Dahlia sighed, “Girl- You know I’d never lie to you- right?” 

“I know ..” 

“Why are you so worked up?” Dahlia asked, holding her arms out. Flora shuffled over, a little embarrassed, but she couldn’t help the fact that she just got a little carried away sometimes. She wrapped her arms around Dahlia, happy to be so loved. “It’s just that I- I …” She sniffled, “I don’t want you to go away to college next year! I’m gonna miss you!” 

“Flora- you are literally my sister, You can come see me whenever you’d like, it’s not like we just met this year, I’ll always be in your life…” Dahlia knelt down, and Flora kissed her, burying her face in her neck. “You don’t know that, things happen, and you don’t tell me everything so You could just be gone one day- I’m scared-” Flora held onto her, and she gave the girl a rub on the back. 

“If something like that happens, I’ll let you know, I might keep secrets but none that could hurt you- you just need to trust me … Okay?” Dahlia said, and Flora nodded. 

The day of love, for some, arguments for others, and forgiveness for many … 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Clive opened the door to his dorm, having finally gotten home just now to see that all the lights were turned off. He anxiously reached over to the lightswitch, and flicked it on, seeing Luke curled up in bed, wearing nothing but some lingerie … 

“What took you so long? I almost went to sleep-” He pouted, rubbing his eyes.

Clive was happy to finally see him, shutting the door before going over to him, wrapping his arms around Luke. “My bad-” He said, wanting to kiss Luke all over his body and forget about anything outside this room. 

“Mom won’t be back- Dad came to harass me today so I told him to go get her-” 

“I should have known he’d show up ..” Clive said, getting a chuckle from the smaller boy. Luke laid back on his pillows, “Now we have the room all to ourselves again-” Luke said, nudging Clive with his foot. Clive nodded, “I can finally start choking you when you get on my nerves again-” 

“Hmf! You shouldn’t do that either way-” The boy said, pressing a little chocolate cube to Clive’s lips. Clive bit his finger, not enough to hurt, just enough to make him jump a little. 

“So … is it good?” 

“ … yeah- its really-  _ really  _ sweet-” 

“Too sweet?”

“Well- no not for me- I like sweet stuff so I don’t mind- you did a really good job-” He put his hand on Luke’s head, feeling warmed by his extremely happy smile. “I’m so happy you like it! I thought you were gonna say it was way too sweet or it tasted like fruit or something!” 

“I mean, It does taste like fruit .. but how is that a bad thing?” Clive said. Luke looked up at him, “Because- it’s- the secret ingredient is supposed to stay secret!” 

“Secret- wha-”

“It’s a secret!” 

“Well- it’s not like I know which fruit-” Clive laid next to him, hoping it wasn’t something he was secretly allergic to. Luke got up, and took a seat on top of Clive, kissing his cheek with one hand on his chest for leverage. He could feel Clive’s heartbeat, it was starting to increase, getting harder. Luke grinned, thinking he was getting excited, wrapping his arms around his shoulders. He felt Clive’s hand slide up his back, into his bra, “You look good ..” he said, kissing at his neck. Luke was still, feeling fingers brush across his nipples, he bit his lip, and prepared for whatever would come next. He hoped Clive would bite him, mark him up, he wanted it rough today but he’d never be able to say that out loud …

But nothing happened, Clive was being still. 

“Are … you okay?” Luke asked, his chest pressed up to the other’s. He could feel Clive’s heart throbbing against his own, before he shuddered, and pushed Luke away a little, “I- somethings- wrong-” 

“Oh- no! Did I- are you okay?” He asked, and Clive nodded, “Yeah- Yeah- I’m- probably fine- I’m just hot-” He said. Luke looked at him, before watching closely. “Ohh- it works!” 

“What? What works-” 

“The love syrup!” 

“ …  _ What did you do?!”  _ Clive asked, and Luke picked up another chocolate cube from the nightstand, “Nothing! It was the chocolate! Don’t worry- it’s normal-” He said. 

“N- normal? Did you drug me?”

“What? No way! Of course not!” Luke said. Clive leaned back, panting … 

“Clive?” 

“Luke- whatever you put in it- feels like- the same thing-” Clive flinched suddenly, “Luke are you sure you didn’t put anything in it? Nobody gave you anything right? Seriously-” 

“What are you so worried about? You seem pretty normal to me-” Luke said, pulling away. “In fact-” 

“Wait! Before that- you eat one too-” 

“Why?”

“So I can know whether or not it’s just me!” 

“Hm … okay-” Luke reached over, and picked up one of the sweets, eating it. Clive just watched him swallow it, and then sit there, supposedly waiting for it to kick in, all the while Clive was starting to feel weak, and his dick was nearly about to rip a hole in his pants. 

“I don’t feel anything-” Luke said, “are you sure you aren’t just how you normally are?” 

“Am I - normally out of breath from doing nothing?” Clive said, kicking the fabric off. He pulled his shirt off, and Luke looked down at his length as it twitched. It was dripping … a lot, Which wasn’t normal, but it wasn’t bad- was it? Luke leaned down, and licked it, dragging his tongue up it’s side, feeling it move more than it ever had. 

Clive stopped him, “wait- you first-” He said, just trying to buy time. Luke didn’t seem to want to, but he reluctantly laid down, letting Clive pull his lacey underwear off, and for some reason keep them in his hand. 

Luke suddenly felt his own heart start to throb, and when Clive’s tongue came into contact with his lower half, his legs snapped shut around his face. 

“Wait! That feels weird! What are you- doing?” Luke groaned, and Clive looked at him, “see!? You feel it too!” 

“What happened?” 

“Your chocolate is what happened-” Clive sat up, and Luke whimpered, “noo .. it’s a lie- I worked really hard on it!” He said, “Is it poison?” 

“... probably not …” Clive sighed, forcing Luke’s legs open. The boy squirmed, “s-stop it! The air- it’s cold-! I- nhhuh-” Luke went quiet as Clive just picked back up where he was, keeping Luke’s legs wide open as he licked him, sticking his tongue inside, unable to see Luke’s body convulse. He had tears in his eyes already as he tried to get away, but no matter what he did, he was stuck. Clive pushed one of his fingers inside, curling it up, pressing into that little sweet spot Luke never wanted him to touch. He leaned up, biting at his chest, feeling him pull at his hair as he started to tighten around his fingers. 

“S-Slow- stop! Clive!” Luke yelled, before gasping as his release shot through his body, spraying forward onto Clive with one embarrassingly wet sound. He covered his face while Clive looked him over, “Cwive- I still- feel- hooooot-” 

“Mm …” Clive closed Luke’s legs, sliding his length between them. “Me too- maybe if we keep going it’ll wear off-” He said, and Luke nodded. 

“P-put it in ..” 

“I- but what if-”

“I don’t care! Put it in!” Luke whined, “it hurts- I need you-” he gripped Clive’s arm, truly in pain. Clive could feel what he was going to, he reached over into the bedside drawer, digging through it. Condoms, condoms, were they out? How? 

“I threw those things away- they make me itchy down there ..” 

“Luke- i”

“Just do it!” Luke begged him, “It doesn’t matter!” 

“...” Clive sighed, praying to whatever god there may or may not be as he coaxed Luke into rolling over. He could hear him sniffling, his nipples were red and so was his face as Clive … sort of easily slipped in. There was no resistance, just a warm, wet, mushy cavern sucking him in like a vacuum to the unknown. Emphasis on the wet part, Luke was dripping down his own leg, onto the bed, face first into his pillows. 

Clive was completely still, in up to his balls, feeling Luke tremble just from him being inside. How were they supposed to have sex like this? It felt … good, too good, too much. He’d been completely still for two minutes now, and Luke hadn’t even complained. 

“God- I- I’m stuck-” Clive said, hearing Luke’s mumbled sentence into his pillow. 

“I’ll try ..” He responded, slowly pulling out, biting down on his lip as he squeezed his eyes shut. He felt like he was about to cum, hesitant to push back in. His head filled with static, and he breathed, doing everything he possibly could to get his own body to behave. He tried thinking about something gross, but none of it worked, and the more he used his mind to combat the issue, the more his mind went away from him, until he was just blindly thrusting into Luke, taking the extreme form of pleasure for all it was worth, making the smaller boy sob. 

It didn’t last long, one movement later and they were both cumming, Clive letting it go deep inside of Luke, unable to even think about pulling out. It came out one pump after another, and Luke took all of it, shaking like a cold chihuahua watching a horror film. 

“It- it’s not helping!” Luke cried. 

“..” Clive was quiet, looking down at Luke, who was trying to figure out what he was looking at. 

“Cwiiiiveeee! Say something!” 

“..s” He mumbled something, gripping Luke by his hips as he shoved his hips forward. Luke took in a breath, shakily letting it escape him as Clive started to move how he normally would. Was he upset? 

“C-wive!” 

Clive put a hand over Luke’s face, hissing for Luke not to be so loud. He was allowed to move, rolling over onto his side, one of his legs pulled up as Clive slowly began to ram into him. The hard, wet slapping sound filled the room, He was just trying to get it out, he must have realized there was no other way. 

_ He’d just have to get it all out- whatever that means- _

“Cli-i-ive- ah!” Luke’s voice faded in and out in sync with the other’s movements, his stomach was tight and it continued to throb as their headboard slammed against the wall. There was no way nobody else had heard him by now. He let out a groan, gripping his sheets as his body forced him to orgasm again. That time it actually felt like it was worth something, his mouth gaped open and his toes curled as Clive slowly pulled out of him. 

“Im- dying-” he fell over, and Luke just laid there, unable to think straight for a solid minute. His legs felt like noodles, Clive had just filled him up-  _ twice. _ And he was still hard. He didn’t know if he could take it a third time.

“You won’t die ..” Luke got up, and Clive groaned, “My dick is gonna fall off-”

“It won’t!” 

“It hurts ..”

“Baby!” Luke shoved him, rolling him over. The thing stood straight up like an exclamation point. “...” Luke reached out, “I feel fine now .. maybe you just need to do it again-” He said, and Clive hissed at the sensation of his hand on his length. 

“S-stop- it’s not helping-” 

“Well- if you don’t do this then we have to take you to the nurse!” Luke said, watching Clive mentally struggle for a second. He let Luke continue, allowing him to feel him up any way he felt like he should. How come it wore off for Luke so fast? This just wasn’t fair …

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Luke held onto Clive, asleep on the bus. February fifteenth, and they were going back to school. Desmond had bandages all over his arms, but he seemed happy. Though, there was also a sense of acceptance in the air, whatever happened yesterday would stay in the past. 

Dahlia looked up, setting her phone down, “Oh- Clive- The student body of freaks said it’s your turn.” 

“... the who what?” 

“To throw a party? The fourth one- it’s in your dorm …” She said, and Luke looked up at him. He gasped, “We get to throw a party?!” He asked, and Clive groaned, “Nooonononono! We weren’t supposed to make it this far!” He shook his head, “Fuck- wait …  _ who exactly wants me to throw it? _ I thought people hated me now?” 

“Hm? Well- things took a weird turn, you don’t pay attention to what happens so allow me to fill you in-  _ ahem- _ ” She smiled, so proud of her school and all of the drama. “After the thing with the photos, your itchy friend here sort of made it public knowledge that you don’t like girls with bushes after that one line- which- I mean- Everyone recorded it so Everyone pretty much saw you three- and since Luke doesn’t believe you would do something like that, the rumor started to become that some strange guy snuck in and did it and tried to frame you- so then all the girls were back to babying you but- i suppose you didn’t notice it since they weren’t outwardly attacking you like usual-” 

“I- what- HOW-” 

“And after the girls realized who  _ really  _ took those pictures- It was over- Of course, we still need mrs. scarlet red- so we were all willing to bury the hatchet as long as she quit the photography club-” 

“But- the-  _ why did so much happen without me knowing it? _ ” 

“Well- Luke should have told you some of this! Luke-?” She looked at him, and he turned red. “Clive was happy ..” Luke said, “I didn’t want to mess it up..” He admitted, and Clive stared up at the ceiling, blanking out. “Fuck.” 

“Now now, no complaining, it’s your turn- and you’d better make it good! The second to last party should be unforgettable, you never know what could happen next-” She said, “And as for me- assuming you don’t fail us this year, I’ll be in charge of the last one-” 

“...” Clive squeezed Luke’s hand, and nodded. Luke wondered what would happen during it, and his mind began to flood with ideas of what to do at said party. If he was the one throwing it, would all the attention be on him? 

What if it went wrong? Would everyone hate him for it? 


	37. Trapped in the closet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A bunch of people get stuck in a closet.

Dahlia looked around the gym storage room, watching Clive as he dug through the disorganized rubble. She had agreed to help him set things up, thinking she’d make it home in time to actually get dressed, but Clive … was taking forever. 

“What the fuck are you looking for? It smells like gym in here and if any of this shit touches me-” 

“The gym teacher’s got laxatives in here- I was thinking I could put them in the food, people would get sick, everyone will hate me- and the party- and there won’t be some final boss battle in the middle of the school.” 

“...” Dahlia squinted at him. “You're planning to sabotage your own party? But - I don’t understand- won’t you still get chased around? Like when Luke was telling everyone what you two do when you’re alone. .”

“..” Clive sighed, “People only really get mad at me for sex related reasons, this will just make them shun me,  _ as they should- _ ”

“But they’ve left you alone so far- is this really necessary?” Dahlia asked, looking towards the door. She held the storage room key in her hand, taking small steps towards the door. “Yeah- to protect Luke” Clive stopped, having finally found the big jar of pills he was looking for. “Whenever people come to this building, they like to sneak around in my room, and … since I’m not hated anymore- and I don’t want anyone going through Luke’s things, I’m just going to end it here. Plus, the final party is ...” He shuddered, “nothing- just- That fifth party is cursed-” He said, looking up to see Dahlia shut the door, and lock it. 

“Well you won’t have anything to worry about! I’ll make sure everyone stays out of your room-” 

“... That’s not funny- open the door-” Clive said, twisting the doorknob. It didn’t budge, and he couldn’t break it no matter how hard he tried. The school was well-built for spoiled rich kids, of course all of the doors were impenetrable. “Dahlia!” 

“Calm down- I’ll let you out, I just can’t let you mess this up, Don’t you trust me~?”

“Of course I don’t trust you-!”

“Aw- Be good and maybe I’ll give you something for it later on- seriously, I’ll let you out later, so don’t blow a fuse or break something.” She said, “Damage my school and I’ll break your legs!”

“What about Luke?! He’s gonna wonder where I am!” Clive said through the door, “and when he finds out you locked me in a dank closet- he’s gonna be mad at you-”

Dahlia audibly laughed, “I’ll tell him you failed another test and you have to make it up-!” 

Clive quietly pulled out his phone, Fine- He could just call someone to let him out. It wasn’t like she was going to stand there and guard the door, right? “You shouldn’t lie to him, he trusts you- what kind of friend are you?” He hissed, sitting down as he sent Desmond a message. He couldn’t really think of anyone else who would be able to get the key from her. 

“Only the best, most reliable, most gorgeous- rich- talented- smart- funny-”

“Annoying! Just leave already!” He stared down at his phone screen, and smiled, no response, that meant he was on his way, and fast. 

Clive looked around the closet … It was sort of dark in here- wasn’t it? Dark, boring, nothing to do. Dahlia wasn’t talking anymore so he figured she’d walked away or something. Hopefully Desmond got here quickly. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Clive stared up at the ceiling, having zoned out a while ago, not really thinking about anything, or thinking at all, just sort of existing on the floor of the closet. He perked up and back into life when he heard a voice outside the door.

_ Are you desmond? _

_ Huh? _

and then the sound of keys jingling. He stood up, walking over, hearing the door unlock, and the doorknob twist open. Nothing happened for a second, but he could hear shuffling around, struggling? He wondered if the two were fighting, having not expected anyone to be waiting at the door.

But then all of his hopes came shattering down on him as Desmond collided with him. 

“Oh- You’re the one she put in there?” Aurora asked, standing in the doorway with the keys in her hand. Clive sat up, pushing an unconscious Dez off of him, “Jesus christ- since when could you fight?!” He asked, having never seen  _ anyone  _ do this. 

“What? I didn’t!” Aurora said, “I smiled at him and he passed out- what did you do that made Dolly wanna put you in here?” she asked. Clive looked down at Desmond, and cringed, “I- didn’t want to throw the party- but she really wants it to happen- Can you let me out?”

“... well- I wanna go to the party too- so sorry, but ..” She closed the door, and locked it. Clive stared at the door for a second, wondering just what he was supposed to do. He needed to get out of this damn closet, but who else would even be willing to break him out? He thought about it for a long time ... before slapping Desmond as hard as he could.

“I’m up!” Dez said, sitting up, taking off his bent glasses, grabbing a new pair out of his jacket pocket. “ …  _ isn’t this a little too sensual? _ ”

“What?” 

“We’re in this dark closet all by ourse-” 

Clive reeled his hand back as far as it could go, and slapped him again, “SHUT UP- Listen!” He growled through grit teeth. 

“Ow~” 

“We are locked in here- You were supposed to get me out- dumbass! Do something! Can’t you pick locks?!” 

“Calm down~  _ you’re so strong~! _ Uh let me see-” Dez stood up, and went over to the door, looking at the doorknob. Clive watched him as he stood there for a second, staring down at it as if he couldn’t believe what he was looking at. 

“Mmhmm, yup, yup, uh- Clive there’s no hole on this side of the door.” 

“..” Clive fell over onto the floor, “kill me.” He whispered to the dark gods that constantly tripped the feet of his fate. Dez looked over at him, “You shouldn’t lay down on the floor in here, you could get ringworms-” He said.

“Leave me alone, mom-”

“Okay sweetie- Have you tried breaking the door?”

“It won’t-”

“Hmm…” Dez stood up, dusting his hands off before he gripped the doorknob, and pulled on it, not having any sort of luck whatsoever. 

“Open sesame!” 

“Dez- stop-” Clive said, “We’re going to die in here- just face it- this is the end-” He said, still laying on the floor. 

“Aw … she’s not that cruel- she’ll let us out-”

“It’s funny you really think she’s even going to remember we’re in here-” 

“Well- what makes you think she won’t?”

“... it’s Dahlia, what even are we in her weird royal universe? Like- peasants ..” 

“ … Yeah, you do have a point, but- Well, it’s just for today- right? I’ll tell Emmy to come get us later- or you could call Luke-” 

“...” Clive groaned, “Luke is mad at me ..”

“What did you do this time?”

“I didn’t tell him it was my birthday- but- that’s not fair! It was valentines day- it’s the one day where i’m supposed to spoil him and he wouldn’t even let me get him anything, and now he’s probably never going to let me do anything on that day, because it’s my birthday …  _ and i didn’t want him to know .. _ ” 

“You sound really upset about it-”

“...” Clive sighed, and Dez looked down at him. “Wait- so now you’re nineteen?”

“Yeah ..”

“That … isn’t- right- did you fail a grade or something?” 

“...” Clive was quiet, curling up on the floor. “No parents, I wasn’t put in school at the right time so i’ve always been a year older than everyone …” Clive sighed, and Dez looked at him. “Wait- that means you’re the oldest!”

“Yeah?”

“This isn’t right though- I can’t be younger than you!”

Clive huffed, mumbling a “why not”

“Because! …  _ that’s so … hot- _ ”

“How did I know you were going to say that?” Clive sighed, and sat up. Desmond was basically squirming, “but you’re so little!” 

“...  _ you wanna say that again? _ ”

“You know what I mean! You’re shorter than me-” Dez said, and Clive got up, “and?” He asked, ready to kick the the one in the face.

“... tiny-”

“Who are you calling tiny?! I’m taller than most of the people that go here! Especially the guys!” 

“Ah~ but you’re not taller than me~ cause you didn’t wanna eat your lunches- and now you’re a little short guy with a short temper~ so cute-”

Dez flinched as a dodgeball came hurling towards his face, slamming into his forehead at maximum force.

“Just because you’re taller than me doesn’t mean you get to call me short! Besides- i’m the oldest so you should be more respectful to your elders!  _ And my temper is perfectly in check thank you very much! _ ” 

Dez groaned, “... hey- this means you and Luke have even more of an age gap-” He said, taking his glasses off. “ and if you think about it … you’re almost twenty-”

Clive sank to his knees, a look of realization dawning on his face, before he sighed, “Please don’t say that ..”

“ .. so- if Luke won’t come help you theeeeen we’re shit out of Luck, ‘cause now that I think about it- I’m sure Emmy would only laugh if she found out I got stuck in a closet'' Desmond thought to himself, and the closet got quiet. The two came to the realization on their own, that they would probably have to just wait it out. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Luke watched Dahlia as she put a bunch of jell-o shots in their fridge, taking a look around the room. She saw Luke, still dressed in his cheer uniform with an extremely depressed look on his face. 

She tilted her head, “what’s wrong, short stuff? You look like you’re having a bad everything day.” 

“..” Luke shook his head, “He keeps running away …” 

“Hm?” 

“Whenever something happens, whenever i’m upset with him, or he thinks it’s not going to work out, he runs away …” Luke said, balling his hands up. “I just I needed to tell him something important and he’s not even here to hear it-”

Fuck. 

“Luke-” She ran a few possibilities of what to say through her mind, picking out the best one. “He didn’t leave you, I locked him in a closet-” 

“...” Luke glared at her, “what? Why?!” 

“He was going to stop the party- don’t worry about it- i’ll let him out when it’s over-” 

“But- why didn’t you tell me?!” Luke stood, “I was worried!” 

“Well I’m sorry, If i had any idea it bothered you so much then of course I would have said something, but now that you and I are on the same page, I highly doubt you want me to let him out?”

“...  _ leave him. _ ” Luke glared at the floor. “Did everyone cover their windows?” He asked, ready to get started again. Dahlia nodded, “We even had time to sneak in some  _ real hard  _ liquor- I’m not gonna remember a thing tomorrow!” She enthusiastically said, before stopping, and thinking about that for a moment. She looked down at the floor, “Hey- Luke- now that I think about it …” She grinned, “You could use a break- right? How about we make this party all about you?” 

“What? But- my birthday isn’t until-” 

“Nono- not a birthday- just aaah- A little friend- appreciation party- Of course, I can get you anything you ask for- This is the fourth party after all-  _ i want you to have the time of your life! _ ” She said. Luke thought about it for a second … and nodded. “Well … can there be cake?” 

“Of course! As much cake as you want!” 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Emmy walked down the hallway, fists clenched, shoulders squared, eyes locked on target as she saw Aurora standing next to a door. Her uniform seemed especially golden today, along with the self defense ring on her finger. She walked directly in front of her opponent, and stood straight, “Aurora.” She said. Squinting at the mist-eyed girl.

The other seemed genuinely surprised, “... oh, you know my name?” She asked, and Emmy huffed. “You’re the one keeping my slave locked up-” She said, “You can’t do that- Let him out right now.” 

“... slave?” Aurora asked. “Weren’t you two kissing at prom?” 

“I have no idea what you’re saying! I would never do anything as disgusting as kiss my own servant!” She pushed her hair out of her face, “Don’t make me go through you- You do NOT want to test me-” Emmy looked Aurora in the eyes, and things were silent for a second. 

“... im sorry, but Dahlia told me not to open it-” 

“Oh Dahlia this Dahlia that- I hate that bitch! She can’t tell EVERYONE what to do ALL the time! Don’t you ever think for yourself? You- robot!” Emmy yelled, and Aurora looked down. “I’m used to just doing what people tell me to do, but that’s only because I choose to.” 

“Yeah, keep telling yourself that, Maybe if you didn’t let everyone walk all over you- you’d actually sound like you have a soul in there-” 

“Are you trying to tell me you don’t think I’m human?”

“Not acting like that you’re not- The one thing that sets humans apart from wild animals is the ability to think for ourselves! And you don’t even do that much- do you- robot?” Emmy turned her nose up, and Aurora just stared at her … she looked down at her reflection in the floor, and then back up to Emmy. 

“You’re right …” She said. “But I did do one thing on my own, recently … I helped someone. I think I like helping people, it feels good- You don’t know me- or anything about me- I do have a soul, and I have feelings too …” Aurora looked Emmy in the eyes, seeing her grin like she was proud. “That’s more like it! Now open this door- seriously, what has Dahlia ever done for you anyways?” 

“... yes, very well, come-” Aurora said, and Emmy stepped closer to the crack of the door. It opened, and Dez looked up, happy to see she had actually come for him, before she was pushed inside, and darkness consumed the room as the door shut again. 

“ …  _ you fucking idiot! _ ” Clive yelled, “Both of you are so god damn stupid! Aurora! Let us out!” He started to get up, before hearing her voice.

_ “According to your friend, I’m a robot, robots follow orders, I was ordered to keep this door shut and locked, and so that’s how it will stay until I am told to do otherwise. _ ” 

Clive tensed, barely understanding what the hell she said, let alone how to respond to it. Dez sighed, “well- I didn’t imagine Emmy’s first three-way being with Clive and I - but I guess this could work-” 

Emmy punched him in the face, the metal of her ring connecting to the side of his head, “Don’t you ever say that ever again!” She yelled, and Clive stared, actually kind of happy it wasn’t just the two of them alone anymore, things were starting to get weird. "Jesus- he didn't mean it!" Clive said, and She looked at him. 

" _ You're next if you think what he just said was funny!"  _ She stated. Clive just shook his head, even if he did think it was funny, he wasn't going to get hit just for that. He tried to change the subject as quickly as he could, “So- did he call you or something? How did you know we were in here?” 

“Hmf-” Emmy sat down on the floor, “I can smell loser creeps from a mile away.” She said, " that and I just had a feeling something was going on since he wasn't sending his usual five thousand "hey" texts." She sighed. "so I asked around- and now i'm stuck in here too aren't I?" She seemed so depressed all of a sudden.

“...” Clive looked down at the floor, his eyes adjusted to the darkness pretty quickly, so he could see just fine right now. “Yeah.” He mumbled. “Dez, are you dead?” 

“Nn …" He groaned, not moving a muscle from where he was. 

Emmy kicked at him, "I didn't hit you that hard .. I hit you way harder just the other day and you were fine! You even said it felt good!" She said, and Dez hummed. 

"I'm more hurt that you didn't hit me harder, you must think i'm soft or something-" he curled up, and Emmy tried to wrap her mind around how one person could be this way. 

Clive looked down at him, gently resting a hand on his head "when we get out, i'll punch you extra hard, Alright?"

"Mm"

"So why'd the high and mighty queen shove you in a closet? I would have expected you two to fight back or- something-" Emmy crossed her arms, " _ especially you- how pathetically did you fail?" _

Desmond hummed … "I plead the fifth." He mumbled, so Clive spoke for him, "He passed out so she just let him fall over in here, and I got left behind when we were looking for .. party supplies-"

"In the nasty gym closet?" 

"Yeah- don't worry about it-" He said, and Emmy hummed. "Guys are so stupid-" she hissed, and Clive immediately responded, "Are you not stuck in here too?!" Being interrupted by Dez, "But she's right- in fact-"

"Dez please don't start this-" 

"Women are the superior of our species-" 

Clive covered his face and groaned, seriously not wanting to hear this again. Emmy seemed intrigued though. 

"Women are much more intelligent, emotionally and logically, They're beautiful, graceful, gifts from heaven- they are the givers of all life on this planet- everyone you see came from a woman, or her egg- and what is an egg if not the ultimate symbol of life?" 

"... Ew" Emmy said, and Clive sighed, "I'm so happy you're not taking his side-  _ jesus christ- _ " 

"Hmf- he's got it all twisted up!" Emmy said, "Of course women are superior- but what about the men? Rulers are nothing without people to work for them- that's why the men are the ones who build everything and make everything-"

"Oh my god not you too-  _ please _ that's such a fucked up thing to say!" Clive said, and Emmy looked at him. "Would you do anything for Luke? Would you put your life before his? Do you trust his judgement?" 

"... Well- yeah- but that doesn't mean-" 

"And whenever you have a problem- do you report to him?"

"Well- it's-" 

"And can you look me in the eyes and tell me you dont believe Luke is smarter than you are?" 

"...  _ You're both sick _ \- And Luke is a boy so it doesn't count!" Clive sounded like he was pouting, looking away from them both.

"I don't see why you're so mad about it, Luke still needs you- doesn't he?" 

"... Yeah- but you make it sound like i'm just his servant or something- like i'm replaceable .." 

"I didn't say anything about that- I was just proving that you pretty much rely on him to tell you what to do- which makes him the man of the relationship-  _ and your owner- _ " She said, and Clive looked over at Desmond, who seemed a little too happy. 

"I love you .." He said, and Emmy nodded, "as you should-" 

"You're both messed up-" Clive mumbled. Dez looked around the closet, "I guess- I just want to be treated like dirt- that's all- really- so I don't mind." He said, out loud, as if it wasn't strange. 

"Ugh- you-" Clive shook his head, "I'm done with this conversation- maybe I can call someone else .." He looked down at his phone, and Dez watched him struggle to even unlock it. 

"... Ooh- you thinking of calling  _ him? _ " 

"Don't- say that-!" Clive turned red, searching through his contacts. It was the first one to pop up, above a newly added Anthony. 

"Are you texting him? Oohh you two already have messages! Aww you're gonna say hi first?"

"S-shut up! Please! I hate talking to him enough as it is!" Clive said, "and he's probably gonna ask for something t-" Clive was cut off by the sound of his phone ringing. Dez seemed overjoyed, "He's calling you!  _ You'd better answer~ _ " 

"..." Clive sighed, and picked it up, putting it to his ear. 

" .. h-hey-" 

Emmy looked, wondering who could be so terrifying that they could scare this guy. 

"What? … I never said I was coming back! Asshole! Every time I come over you steal Something from me! And we're not friends-  _ i'll never forgive you _ -" Clive said, pausing. Dez wondered what the other was saying, it made Clive calm down a little, and for a while it was quiet ..

"Fuck off-" Clive hung up on him, and Dez started to get a little worried. "Clive please? What did he say?"

"... N-nothing- don't worry about it-" he turned red, and Desmond huffed. "if you don't call him back and tell him to break us out of here then I'm going to start tickling you-"

"Fucking weirdo! Are you really gonna force me to talk to him after what he did?!" 

Dez smiled, going on a romantically dramatic rant, "I already know you forgive him, you even feel bad because you know he was forced into doing it- and you saw how broken he was afterwards- even though he did what he did- you know-" and then he was stopped by Clive’s unimpressed rebuttal.

"Fucking fine!" The extremely irritated teen said, "just shut up already! I don't wanna hear anyone say it-" he flinched when his phone rang again, "ugh- he's calling back- he's so desperate!" Clive answered with an aggressive "what." Going quiet as a frantic voice came through the phone. 

Emmy looked over at Dez, "did something happen? Did he get beat up by his friend?" 

"... Yeah you could say that-" Desmond said, and Clive looked down. "No- but- listen- i need your help, s-sort of- uh- I got locked in a closet … are you serious? I haven't even asked you for anything and you're already asking for payment! Whatever- you leech- how much do you want? …" Clive stopped, and Emmy huffed. "If the price is that surprising then I'll pay him off- how much does he want?" 

"..." Clive shook his head, "Yeah- just come get us out-" he said, waiting a few seconds before he hung up. He was quiet for a second … and then he just sort of stared down at the floor like he was thinking of how to say goodbye before running off to war. 

“I appreciate your noble sacrifice-” Dez said, not getting a response at all. Emmy looked up, “Hey- why don’t we try kicking the door open when she tries to throw him in too? Once it opens just a little bit we just- hya!” she punched the air.

Dez snorted, "sure- i'm down with forcing it open-"

“ … gross." She crossed her arms, a little used to it by now .. she looked up, "Wait a second- You're right!" She got up, and put her hand to the door, feeling around it. 

"It's weak right here- i might be able to-" She clenched her fist, and reeled her arm back, shoving her iron knuckles through the door. It cracked … and she screamed. 

"My hand!!" She screamed, pulling her arm close to her chest.

"A-are you Alright?" Dez asked, barely able to hear over Clive's immediate laugh. 

"What's so funny you worm?!" She said, before wincing, sitting back down. 

“Nothing- just- pfft-”

"It hurts for real ... My wrist- -" She was holding onto her arm so tight she was probably doing more damage than the door did. Dez hummed, “I would say let’s look for something in here- like maybe an ice pack? But- I wouldn’t want to touch this stuff-” 

She looked around, seeing nothing but sports equipment and … bottle caps? A lot of them.

“You did crack the door though- maybe we could break it after all? But- I think we should just wait-” Dez said. Knowing full well he was trapped in a room with two people who possessed the combined attention span of a puppy. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Luke made his way down the hallway, having decided to let Clive out of the closet. He watched two people talk, Aurora and some tall guy with wavy red hair. She glared up at him, saying something that Luke couldn’t quite make out just yet as he got closer. 

The guy must have heard him coming, he looked up, and turned towards Luke, a slightly startled look on his face becoming way more apparent as the boy approached them. 

“Uh-” Luke said, stopping in front of them. For some reason he felt like something bad was about to happen here. He cleared his throat and spoke, “Is Clive in there?” He asked, Getting a slow nod from Aurora. She lifted the key, and paused … “Hey- You-” She looked up at Alfendi, who was quiet, listening. “He really wanted a hug … But you know how he is, You should probably try and do it quickly when I open the door, if you don’t want him to hit you-” She said, and Luke started to object, before the door opened, and the redhead rushed inside without even thinking about how stupid it is that Clive would admit to wanting to hug anyone. 

There was a loud thud that made him flinch out of the way, not wanting to see as a bunch of people were thrown to the back of the closet. “C-Clive?!” He asked, peeking into the room at the pile of way more people than he thought before he himself was shoved inside. He turned, and quickly yelled a disheveled “Hey!!” as he tried to rush out, Before the door slammed shut, and locked, staring down at him with wooden ominosity. 

There was a loud, multitude of groans before the four all separated off of eachother, Clive, Desmond, Emmy, Alfendi, and now Luke. 

It was quiet, everyone looked at eachother, and for a second it was completely quiet before Luke shuffled over to where Clive was, getting that bad feeling again. Alfendi spoke up, “How did Aurora trap all of you in a closet? You can’t all be that stupid-” He arrogantly said, and things were completely silent after that. 

He was left to contemplate how stupid of a statement that was, feeling a little ashamed of himself for also getting stuck in here. “Um-” Luke said, “shouldn’t someone call someone to get us out?” 

“That’s what we’ve been doing but everyone gets stuck~ We’re gonna run out of room in the closet- But hey! Now there’s enough people to play truth or die!” 

“Truth or die?” Emmy asked, and Alfendi cringed, “I’d rather not-” 

“Why? You got some secrets in that big nose of yours?” Dez asked, in a surprisingly normal voice. Alfendi looked away, “it’s not my secret I'm worried about-” He said, crossing his arms. “It’s a concussion- I know you’re just looking for any excuse to hit me-” 

“Nooooo nonononono” Desmond said, “If i wanted to hit you then I would just do it-”

“What is truth or die?” Emmy asked, and Clive sighed, “Its a stupid game we made up in middle school- one person asks you a question, You have to either tell the truth or they get to hit you-  _ or pick someone to hit you _ as hard or soft as they want- but- You can probably imagine how it ended most of the time-”

“That doesn’t sound like fun-” Luke said, and Clive shrugged, “it’s sort of fun if you know a few embarrassing questions” He said, watching Luke as he thought about it for a second. 

“There’s also a third option, you can lie about it but if someone can prove you’re lying then you get hit-” Dez added, “so … who’s going first?” 

Luke smiled, “I’ll go first! Can I ask anyone anything?”

“Yup-” Desmond said, and Luke nodded. “It’s a question for you- um- whatever your name is-” He looked at Alfendi, and Clive slowly came to the realization that  _ Luke had no idea who he was. _ For some reason it felt wrong, it felt like he should tell him, but how? And … it wasn’t like Clive really wanted anyone else in this room to know about it, he just … wanted Luke to know who he was talking to, in case ...

He uncomfortably shifted, and Luke continued, “Um- what’s your favorite color?” He asked, incredibly innocent given the situation he was in. Alfendi smiled, “White-” He said, simply. “ so I get to ask a question now- right?” He scanned the room. 

“Well yeah that’s the idea-” Dez said, feeling like he shouldn’t have said that when Alfendi gave him a shit eating smile, “ I have a question for you- why the sword collection?” He asked. 

Dez was quiet … he sighed, “if this is your way of making fun of me i’m really sad~” He dramatically slouched over, ‘I just like them- that’s all-”

“It’s overcompensation-” Emmy said, and Dez whined, “But you haven’t even seen it yet!”

“I don’t need to-”

“Hmm … Okay~~” He said, giggling to himself. “Then what’s your ideal size?” 

“...  _ Why are you asking me that!?” _

“You were the one who brought it up~? I figured since you seemed to have preferences this would be an easy question to answer~ especially since you’ve definitely seen one before~”

“... I’m not answering-”

“Ah~? So are you saying you don’t know~?”

“I do know!” 

“You dooo~?? How scandalous-”

“Just shut up! I haven’t and I don’t know! There- are you happy?!” 

“Mmhmm-” He nodded, and she was quiet for a few seconds, face turning red over the couple of seconds it took her to think of a question.

“So- you- you’re a cheerleader right?- Do you think Dahlia is a good friend?” She asked Luke, and the boy flinched, “well- yeah! She sticks up for me- she helps me whenever I need it and she’s always there- and she helps me feel better about being … me.” He looked down, “But sometimes- she’s just- weird-”

“Mm … would you trust her?”

“I- I think so-” He said, but anyone would be able to tell that he seemed really unsure. It was written on his face so well that even Clive had to wonder if he’d seen something. He looked down, “so- um- Clive?” He said, pushing his fingers together as his anxiety rose. He got a silent humm, which gave him just a liiittle bit of confidence to be able to ask, “ do you like babies?” 

… there was a long, long, long pause before Clive shrugged, “yeah.” He said, and Luke waited for him to say anything else, anything at all .. but that was it. He was a little disappointed, but he couldn’t expect Clive to get what he meant from just a few words …

“I don’t have anything to ask-” He mumbled, “or- I guess …  _ You- _ ” He looked over at the redhead, who seemed extremely happy to be called on.

“Me~?”

“Yeah you- why don’t you have a roommate?” He asked, and Alfendi shrugged, “I didn’t want one-” He said …

Of course nobody else in the room bought that as an excuse, ‘I didn’t want one’ Barely answers the question at all. “What do you mean you didn’t want one? I couldn’t even get a dorm since the school was so packed! How did you get away with having a room all to yourself?!” Emmy asked, “they were even mixing boys and girls together- there’s no way you don’t have a roommate!” 

“Well I only have one bed in my room-” Alfendi crossed his arms, but Clive immediately interjected, “that bed can fit five people in it- easily-” He said. “Plus some people share a bed- so it’s not really proof of anything-” 

“Yeah-” Luke said, “Ooh what if it’s his girlfriend?” 

“ _ Girlfriend- yeah right- _ ” Desmond said, and Alfendi tilted his nose up, “what’s with that reaction? It’s not like You’ve  _ ever  _ had a girlfriend-” 

Dez started to say something, but Emmy stopped him, kicking him from her corner of the room. It wasn’t enough for anyone to notice, so he just took it as a “don’t say it” and decided not to. 

“Besides, even if you did- the only girl to ever like you would have to be insane-” 

… the sound of a fist cracking across his face was so powerful that even describing it would be a monumental task, Imagine the sound of two trains crashing together, two trains full of dynamite, gasoline and one person who conveniently likes to smoke cigarettes while taking train rides. 

“Ow-” Clive unenthusiastically said, watching Alfendi as he struggled to sit back up. “What was that for?!”

"For lying!!" 

"What are you talking about?!"

"Nothing!!" She sat back down, "go ahead and ask your stupid question-" She hissed, and Alfendi looked over at Luke. "I hate this game-” He looked around at everyone, eyes stopping on the one person he hadn’t seen before. “What’s your name?” He asked. 

Clive put a hand over Luke’s mouth, “King-” 

“You couldn’t let him say that for himself?”

Luke moved Clive’s hand off of his mouth, wondering what he was doing. Clive simply answered, “No, I couldn’t-” Holding onto Luke’s hand. 

At least one of them had the ability to read the other, Luke knew he was trying to keep his identity secret, but- why? He looked over at Alfendi, and squinted. The other two already knew who he was, were they in on this? 

“King?” Emmy said, and Clive looked up at her, subtly shaking his head. 

“You’re all acting weird all of a sudden- but whatever-” 

“.. so- what’s your name?” Luke asked, moving Clive’s hand off of his face. 

“Alfendi- has nobody said it yet? Well- either way- nice to meet you- king-”

“...” Luke looked up at Clive, the look on his face reading, “THAT’S the guy?!” Before looking down, Things were about to get really complicated, really really fast ..


	38. Up and Over

Luke sighed, listening to the rest of the idiot quadro argue about the same thing for what felt like an hour now. He didn't understand, are all teenagers just stupid? Would he become stupid when he reached a certain age? 

"I'm being SO serious-" Dez said, "legally a midget is four foot ten-"

"No it's not! And if it is it shouldn't be!" Emmy said. 

"You're just saying that cause you're short-" Clive added. 

"Whatever! So what if it is 4"10? You're really telling me a guy that height with a two inch dick is legally- scientifically- a midget with a micropenis-" Alfendi said, and Clive screamed, "YES-"

"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT-" Luke yelled, and Dez sighed, "that's so mean- so technically we could say henry is really close to being a midget with a micropenis-" 

"YES- that's what i've been trying to tell you!" Clive said, and Luke slouched, and Alfendi stopped … he looked like he realized what they were all talking about. 

"Wait why?"

"It was funny but you all made it frustrating-"

It was quiet … and Dez looked up, "i just thought of something-" He said, "is the two inches- does that mean hard or soft?"

"Soft-"

" … Wait- why- when does everyone get their dick measured? How do they know?" Emmy asked, and Alfendi shrugged, " If you're a guy then one day when you go to the dentist the dentist does it-"

Clive looked at him, and he smiled … “wanna know something else?” Clive asked, “ you know that thing they use to suck the water out of your mouth? They also use it to clean it-" He said, as if speaking of an urban legend. 

"Really?" Emmy said, and Dez looked over at Clive, who was extremely good at holding back laughs. 

"Yup- cause if they don't get it out it'll turn green and fall off-"

"Get what out?"

" That's the weird thing- nobody really knows what it is- but I heard it was the stuff they use to make toothpaste"

"You're messing with me!"

"I'm not! Right?" He looked around the room, wanting the other two to just go along with it. He didn’t know if Dez would, but Alfendi nodded. 

"He's lying! That's too weird!" She said, “and gross-”

"It's the truth-" Dez joined in, and Clive cracked a smile for a split second before killing it, trying so hard to take this seriously. "It's used in toothpaste- and in glue- not only that but if they don’t get it out then the whole thing turns green and falls off"

"..." Emmy squinted at him, and he gave her a dead serious look, "What?" He asked.

"That's not how they make glue-" She said.

"Yes it is-"

"No it's not-"

"Yes it is- do I have any reason to lie to you~?" 

"..." She huffed, and Luke looked up at Clive, able to see straight through him. Dealing with a liar made him receptive, he knew they were joking- but- what a gross thing to say. " it’s not- they’re being weird-” He said.

"Yeah yeah whatever pukey- that's what they want you to think but it hasn't happened to you yet-" Clive put a hand on Luke’s head, and the boy gave a little huff in response. 

"That doesn't really happen! If it does then how do they have enough to keep making toothpaste!?”

Clive smiled, “well I have to go back to the dentist don’t I? And everyone gets sick- in fact most diseases were created to keep people coming to the doctor-”

Dez nodded, “plus they mix it in with other stuff so it’s not like it’s purely just that- and with eight billion people in the world- of course they have enough-” He looked away, 

“But anyway- back on topic- you go to the dentist and while you’re waiting- usually they make you come to a room and then they measure it- it’s nothing serious-” 

“...” Emmy didn’t want to believe them, especially not Alfendi, they were obviously lying, but how was she supposed to prove it? “I don’t wanna talk about this anymore- let’s change the subject-” she said, and Dez immediately chimed in, “ you wanna hear a scary story?” he asked, and Luke looked over at him, wondering what he could possibly have to say that was scary. 

Everyone got quiet, he had their attention, so he cleared his throat and continued. 

"On Christmas, when I was at my Grandpa's house- I was asleep in his guest room when I heard this noise- it sounded like-" he rhythmically tapped his fingernails against the wall, and then scratched.

Tap tap  _ scratch,  _ tap tap tap  _ scratch  _

nbj

Emmy looked at him, arms crossed with a "that's not scary" look on her face, meanwhile Luke and Clive were glued to each other for protection. 

Dez continued, " so- I get up- hoping it's some ghost lady or something I can deal with- and I walk towards where the noise is coming from- I go downstairs, and into the kitchen, by now the scratching sounds more like ripping- like someone's shredding paper-" Dez said, "and the tapping is like knocking-"

**Knock knock** _ Riiiiip _

"I look towards the couch, there's a figure moving- and a limp arm hanging off of it-" 

"..." Clive squeezed Luke, "w-wait- why'd we start telling scary stories all of a sudden?" 

"And then-" Dez ignored his complaints, " the creature looked up at me- and you wanna know what it was?" 

"What?" Luke asked. 

Dez … shrugged, "i wasn't sure at first- i've never seen two old people fuck before so it took me a second to figure out what I was looking at-" 

"Ugh- gross!" Emmy said, and Luke echoed her thought, it was disgusting. "Why would you say that?" He said, fully knowing the reason. Clive mostly just seemed upset he was led into this stupid story thinking he'd be scared. He looked down at the floor, and just listened as Alfendi decided to but in. 

“I thought you didn’t have parents- you have a grandad?” Alfendi asked, and Dez nodded. 

“I hate that guy-” Clive mumbled, “he’s weird-”

“What? You’ve never even met him-” Dez said, and Clive looked over at him. “Yeah I have- did you forget that entire day we were out there playing paintball?” 

“... um- I can’t say I recall that ever happening-” 

“You- stop messing with me!”

“I’m not! I really don’t remember you ever being there- when was this?” 

“Christmas! You’re saying you don’t remember at all? You don’t even remember what you-” He stopped, and shook his head, seeing that the other was just staring at him. He looked down at Luke, who stared back up at him ..

“ _ Don’t worry- I remember- _ ” Luke calmly whispered, and Clive tried not to instantly panic, wondering what the fuck was going on. Dez smiled, “Maybe you should drink less-” 

“You’re the drunk one!”

“Aw~ you can’t call someone who works so hard a drunk~ it’s all so stressful~” Dez giggled, and Emmy asked, “do all of you drink?” 

“Don’t you?” Alfendi said, and she shrugged, “how would I?”

“At the parties? Even Luke’s been drunk before-” Clive said, and Luke groaned just thinking about it. “Mm- I heard about those parties- I heard a lot of gross stuff happens so I never went-” 

“...  _ You’ve never been? _ We have to get out! You have to go to at least one! They’re so much fun! It’ll ruin your life- probably .. but it’s so much fun!” Dez said, and she cringed, “if it turns me into a drunk too then no thanks-”

“But drinking is fuun-” 

“It’s for stupid people-”

“Huuuh? But you can’t say that about something you’ve never done beforeee~ that’s lameee~” 

“Hmf-” She shrugged, and he took that as a “maybe i’ll try it if you promise not to be weird about it.” 

“Well- it’s not like we can get out- but-” Alfendi reached into his blazer pocket, taking out a bag of gummy worms.

“No! Put that shit back where you got it from!” Clive said, and He smiled. He put a hand up in defense, giving a pointless, “these are safe-” which only made Clive that much more infuriated.

“ _ Are you testing me? _ ”

“N-no- i-”

“Put it back-” 

Dez hummed, “yeah- now’s really not the time anyways-” He mumbled, watching Alfendi as he opened the bag, and started eating them on his own. “ … you know- i’ve always wondered how you two met-  _ you’re just so close- it doesn’t make any sense- _ ” He said, looking down at the floor.

The two were quiet, Clive shifted, the story itself was sort of uncomfortable, but there was nothing else to talk about … 

“I was kind of wondering that too-” Luke said, “you always act so much weirder when you’re together-” He said, and Dez smiled, “Everything is more fun when it’s with the one you love right?”

“Stop- saying that-” Clive mumbled, and he laughed. “We met in elementary school- Dez was kind of a dick back then … actually- he was a huge dick- and he used to mess with me like  _ all the fucking time _ \- He was SUCH an annoying fucking kid- if I could go back in time and kick his ass I would-” 

“Aw~ you liked it though-”

“I did NOT like getting picked on by you! Even in elementary school he was always this big so most of the time doing anything about him was just a way to get yourself killed- but one day when we were at recess- and he just- went too far ... so I waited until he got to the top of one of the slides, and i pushed him off-"

“pff-" Emmy grinned, "really?"

“pushing me off the slide is an understatement- he kicked me pretty hard too- and made me eat sand-” Dez sighed, “I never realized getting hurt could feel so good- and when I looked up and saw those dead eyes looking down on me- ah- I still get goosebumps!” He said, and She looked at him, several dots starting to connect. 

“Yeah- after that he just sort of stuck to me- and it really freaked me out because he went from calling me names and throwing shit at me to hugging me every single morning and trying to hold my hand- and people always thought we were gay because of it so I hated him up until eighth year because I couldn’t make any other friends with him always around-” 

“What happened in eighth?” Alfendi asked, and Dez decided to add onto it. “Well- He was always so quiet- I knew he didn't like me but I still stuck around enough to know where he was most of the time- until one day i couldn't find him anywhere- so I went to the roof and he was just standing there- looking down- I thought he was going to jump off or something so I-”

“I hate you so much-” Clive cut him off, “this fucking idiot comes out of nowhere- and starts dragging me around- and he’s all like-  _ hurr we’re goin to go have fun like normal people!  _ And it freaked me out cause- w-who says that?! Like what does that even mean? Not to mention i've never spoken to him once on my own!” 

“We basically went on a date-” 

“It wasn’t a date-! it was just you making me do and eat a bunch of stuff- and then constantly asking me where I live- and then getting mad when I ignored you- and afterwards I felt bad because he spent  _ all  _ of his money on me and he didn’t get free lunch and he was so clearly hungry the next day- he kept falling asleep everywhere- so I tried to give it back like any fucking normal person would- but he wouldn’t take it!” Clive said, visibly frustrated, “Because according to him- friends just help each other and don’t need anything in return … so i just- got lunch- and shared it with him so he wouldn’t starve himself trying to be a hero-” Clive said. “But that only made it worse- and so now i’m stuck with him … but it’s not that bad-” He admitted. “He doesn’t keep anything in- he might be weird but- after a while- it stops being a reason not to like him- and more of a reason to-” Clive stopped, realizing he was rambling.

“Thanks ..” Desmond said, “I don't even remember why I was so mean to you- but- the day you fought back- it just sort of made me realize i could get hurt- and I know that sounds obvious .. but when you're a kid and you think you're invincible- and you're bigger than everyone- it never crosses your mind-” he said. " When you look up and see the sunset- you don't think of it as the end of the day- but- the start of the night - it wasn't until then that i even really started to get why it was wrong to act like that- ...

“You’re so weird when you sound serious-” Luke said, and Dez smiled, “But i’m always serious!” he said, and Luke shook his head, “not like that-” he looked up at Clive, who looked like he was combing through his memories. “It’s so weird when you talk normal-” 

“Hmm- what If I talk like you then?”

“Like me?” 

“Yeah- i’ll just stare at people’s chests and complain all the time-” 

“I- I don’t do that!” 

“You guys have no idea but Luke has a serious boob fetish-”

“No I don't! Stop it!” Luke turned red, throwing a basketball over at him. Clive just added onto it, “yeah- Luke really loves the whole chest area- he's always peeking in on me when i'm changing- he's a little perv-” He said, snickering as the boy hit him in the chest. Of course his hands did nothing in the sense of actual damage, or getting him to stop talking, but it was cute. 

“Oh- is that why he joined the cheer team?”

“N-no! It’s nothing like that!” Luke swore, turning away from them both, curling up on his own. Alfendi just looked at them all, “his name is Luke?” he asked, and Clive felt his stomach drop. 

Shit- they forgot all about it-

Luke looked over at Alfendi, and then up at Clive, who suddenly seemed a little antsy. Since Luke was right up against him, he could feel his heart suddenly start beating in his chest. 

“Oh, so- you must be the boyfriend-” Alfendi said, and Luke nodded, looking over at him. 

“So then- i’m guessing he told you?”

“.. mm-” Luke nodded, and the other three were dead silent, Emmy was just confused, stuck in the middle of it all, but Clive and Dez were fully aware this could end badly. 

“There isn’t anything else I can say- other than- just … I’m sorry- and I know that’s like- meaningless- but- it’s better than silence- at least- right?” 

“Did something happen? What are you all being so weird about?” Emmy asked, and Dez looked over at the door, “hey … is- the door cracked open or am I hallucinating?” he said. Emmy looked up at it, and pressed her hand to it, pushing it. 

It opened … 

“whaT? HOW LONG HAVE WE-” Clive got up, grabbing Luke like an extra backpack. He rushed out, the lights in the building were completely off. The rest of them began to funnel out of the room after he did, peeking out into the darkness of the hallways, “we’re free!” Dez said, running over to the door at the end of the hallway. He pushed it, trying to open it, and then he pulled.

He pushed and pulled and shoved, before screaming out a “FUCKING HELL!!” as he sank to his knees. Clive watched the whole thing happen, and suddenly he felt like he was going to cry or punch someone or something. They were still stuck in here? This whole building was just- one big stupid fucking closet. 

Luke started looking around, it was hard to see anything with how dark it was, “Wait- okay- it’s impossible to lock us in from the inside right? We can get out- there’s no way they’d make a building like this where we could get stuck inside-” Luke said. 

But the school wasn’t normal in any aspect, so why would this be any different? 

The next ten minutes were spent turning all the lights on, and opening doors, they all split up naturally, trying every door and window, horrified at the fact that every single one was locked. It sort of made sense, a little bit, since the building they were in was mostly used for storage, of course it was stuck like this. 

They all regrouped in one of the junk-filled classrooms, having come to that realization on their own. They’d been let out of the closet, but- not really. 

“At least we can use the bathrooms now …” Luke said, and Emmy sighed, “would calling someone else be a bad idea now?” She asked, but the response was quiet. Would it be? Who would even be awake to come and get them out at a time like this? Plus, everyone was probably at that stupid party-

“And we’re missing the fourth … maybe- henry has the keys- he’s always so friendly with the teachers-” Alfendi lifted his phone, watching Clive as he stared up at one of the vents. He watched him start pushing a desk, and immediately said, “don’t do that- you’ll fall through the ceiling-” getting a groan in response. 

“No I won’t-” Clive mumbled, before squinting up at the vent. He looked to the desk, and then back up, before quietly sliding the desk back. 

“What? Change your mind?” 

“No- watch-” Clive said, throwing a book up at the vent, knocking it loose. Luke looked over, before getting picked up. 

“H-hey!” 

“You’ve been in a vent before- come on-!” 

“Clivveee!!!” Luke whined, being shoved up into it without any type of direction. He huffed, trying to move so that he could Climb back out before the door shut behind him. 

“Let me out!” 

“Find a way out!” 

“I can’t! What if I get hit with a fan blade!” 

“Then you can hit me with a fan blade and we’ll be even!” 

“Ugghhh!!” Luke looked, cringing at the disgusting amount of spiderwebs in the vent. He started to shuffle forwards, mumbling an “I’m only doing this because I wanna go home-” as he tried not to think about any bugs or creatures. Surprisingly, the whole thing was big enough to fit him in it, he didn’t think the school had such an old style vent, but- he should have known since the ones in his dorm were almost the same way, only- they could only fit someone as small as he was. 

He yelped as he nearly fell forward, there was a drop off … he sighed, and carefully shuffled down, falling, actually pretty surprised to see that he was looking towards the ground outside. 

What … wasn’t this supposed to go to the roof? He kicked open the panel that kept it shut, and shuffled out backwards, getting to breathe in a little fresh air before looking at the building itself. 

They probably wanted to be let out too, so he walked over towards the front doors, and tried to pull … but it wouldn’t budge. He looked, seeing that it was locked, with a chain and a key, and it was so tight that it didn’t even budge when he pushed it …

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


“Aurora-” Dahlia said, watching the other girl flinch, but not respond. The two of them were in the middle of the hallway, away from all the noise. Supposedly, Dahlia had something very important to ask, but- 

“What?” Aurora said, staring up at her as she showed her the phone screen. A picture? Of her pushing people into the closet. 

“... i see.” Aurora said, and Dahlia gave a frustrated sigh, “we need Alfendi- what the hell?! Is he still in there?”

“What do you need him for?”

“What do you think? Not everyone drinks- people want other stuff too- plus i already paid him- you’re wasting my money!” 

“Well why didn’t you tell me this beforehand?” 

“Don’t blame me for your fuck up! I only needed one person stuck in that closet! I asked you to keep the door shut and you opened it! This is your fault!”

“...” Aurora was quiet, she didn’t quite know what to say, but one thing did come to mind. 

“Fuck you.” and that was it. Dahlia just stood there … she took in a breath, and put her hands on Aurora’s shoulders, “listen- i’m sorry- can you just- go get him out?” 

“The walk is long- and it’s cold outside.” 

“Fine- want me to come with you? You can wear my jacket-”

“... okay-” Aurora said, “Dahlia- you’re kind of mean sometimes-” she said, out of curiosity of what would happen.

“I know- I didn’t mean to yell at you- don’t take it personally-” She said, starting their walk out of the building. 

“But then why?” 

“Because it’s- a reflex- you grow up getting yelled at then the only thing you’ll be able to think to do in response to things you don’t like is yell back- even if there’s an easier way-” She said. “But i’m smarter than that- so i try not to- yelling is for construction workers …” 

“Oh- “ 

It was quiet between them, Aurora honestly wanted to hate her, because Emmy was sort of right. She did tell her what to do, ALL the time, but … wasn’t it her choice on whether she did it or not?

“Do you think i’m a robot?” She asked, turning away at the cold as it brushed past them both. Dahlia put her own coat over Aurora’s shoulders, able to take the cold on her own. “What?” she said, and Aurora shrugged, “Emmy said-” 

“Ugh- no- don’t listen to her- she can find ways to insult anyone- you’re not anything she called you- seriously- why do you think I won’t let her in? She’s bad for your mental health-”

“... i- well she seemed a little strange but she wasn’t that bad- and- she only said it because she wanted to get out, but it made me think a little …” 

“About what?”

“Why i’m even friends with you- i mean- it’s not like you ever talk to me- or hang out with me- and- you don’t know this- but I- I even helped Celeste with the pictures- honestly- if we stopped being friends right now I don’t know if I would even care- but- is this even what friendship is?” 

“ … what are you even saying? You let her get to you that much? Do you even hear yourself?” 

“...” 

Dahlia stopped, “you’d really just throw all of this away over what one girl- who has NO friends- says about friendship?” 

“Emmy does have friends-” 

“No she doesn’t! She has one creep that follows her around and that’s it!”

“Well what if one is all you need?! I- I regret talking to you about this- you’ll say anything to keep me on your side won’t you?” 

“That’s not true! I care about all of you- I’m SORRY I don’t talk to you more- but i’m busy! You can ask Flora! It’s not like we spend much time together either! Look-” Dahlia said, “i’m one person- just one- you’re not the only one who feels this way- this is what everyone says about me  _ all the time- _ but don’t you see how insane it is to assume I could spend time with every single one of you?” 

“...” Aurora looked down. 

“I’m here if you need me- I’ve got your back- if I didn’t care about you then you wouldn’t be anywhere near me right now- would you? Don’t you think you’re at least a little important to me? Why else would I need to try so hard to keep you on my side? I need you- and if it makes you feel any better- I did know- but I knew it wasn’t your fault- so I didn’t even bother bringing it up … that girl has issues, i’ve known it for a while- but she’s been harmless until now-” 

“What do you think happened?” 

“I don’t know-” Dahlia shoved her hands in her pockets, continuing the walk. “I hope it’s nothing I did … but- hey- it could be worse- it’s not like those pictures were real-”

“Yeah- she- really freaked me out-” 

“Mm …” Dahlia thought about it … “do you think she’s gonna get expelled for that? Since everyone knows she did it?” she asked. 

“So far- nobody has been kicked out for anything- i don’t think they’re even doing it this year-” Aurora looked up. 

“But- they’re not gonna let us do whatever we want- are they?” 

“Maybe- I mean- I don’t know what’s going on but I haven’t even gotten a detention this year …” Aurora thought … “but if that’s the case- then- maybe that’s why none of the parties have been busted?”

“You might be right-” Dahlia said, “but if you are then the fifth party might just be a trap- don’t you think? I mean- they get us all to the last semester- and then boom- everyone gets expelled!” She said. “The school still gets the money for the whole year, and next year’s funding for the first semester, but they don’t actually have to spend it on the students if the students get expelled ..”

“...” Aurora stopped, and looked at her, “that- actually made sense-” she said, and Dahlia tilted her head, “what? Were you doubting me?” she asked, getting a head shake in response, “no- no! I just- didn’t expect to have an answer at all for everything going on- the school- it just wants money …” 

“Most things come down to that, money- and power- that’s it ..” Dahlia said, “but- if that’s the case- we should do the fifth party somewhere else- that way they can’t find it-” she said. “Or- well- someone might still tell them- let’s not invite Henry- just to be safe- ..” 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Luke continued trying to untie the chain from the lock, he almost had it, all he needed to do was-

“I got it-” A voice came from behind him, and he watched as the lock fell onto the ground with one swift key motion. “What are you doing here? I thought you were going somewhere else?” Dahlia opened the door, and walked inside, Aurora following behind her as Luke stood there, sort of pissed. He hadn’t been out here for more than five minutes, if they would have just, waited a little longer! He crossed his arms, and walked inside after her. 

“I came to let him out- but then-” 

“I’m sorry- Aurora said, and Luke shook his head, “it’s fine- i’m out now- i just wanna go home and go to sleep …” He mumbled. Dahlia nodded, “that’s no problem, you shouldn’t be able to hear anything from your room- and it’s getting late anyways- that stupid junkie didn’t even show up- i’m not even in the mood anymore ..” She huffed. 

Luke led them over to the classroom door, and opened it, standing completely still to see that they were all stacking the desks up, and Emmy was walking around with a curtain over her shoulders, and a pointer stick, shooting imaginary lasers at people. 

The three of them turned, and stopped, their pretend kingdom being wiped away as they quickly returned to being normal. 

“... you’re all such dorks-” Dahlia said, a huge smile on her face. The rest of them just awkwardly walked out, aside from Clive, who stopped at the door, and mumbled something. 

“March 17th.” 

And then he left, and she tried to figure out what he meant by that, more concerned with the fact that he didn’t seem upset at all … whatever. He was probably just trying to mess with her. 

Right? 

“So- Clive-” Alfendi asked, getting a mumbled threat of cutting his head off and sticking it to a pole.

“Don’t be so hostile~ I just wanted to know when you’re paying me back for all of this trouble- plus you brought such a cute boy here-” 

“...” Clive sighed, and stopped, letting everyone walk ahead of them. He waited until they were all gone, except for Luke, who was holding onto his hand, about to ask what they were doing. 

Clive let go, and Luke watched as he wrapped his arms around Alfendi, who seemed so overjoyed for a few seconds, before being shoved back into the lockers. 

It knocked all of the air out of him, and kept him from moving as Clive gripped his shirt, slamming him into it over and over again. 

“Don’t! Ever! Come! Near! Him! I’ll kill you!” Clive said, and Alfendi grabbed his arms, coughing, “Stop! I wasn’t!” 

“Don’t even try to talk to him! If I find out you even looked at him I'll break your legs!” 

“I won’t!” 

Clive stopped … “  _ i mean it. _ ” He said, and then he let go. Alfendi just stared at him, he never really believed Clive was all that strong until now … is this what other people had dealt with? Clive left him mostly unscathed, other than his back, which was aching- 

Was that on purpose? 

He tried to stand, but could barely move, his back- it felt like there were a thousand knives stuck into it, and every time he moved they’d twist … He looked up, Clive was still glaring at him, right up until he turned the corner, his eyes never left him. 

“Clive?” Luke asked, and Clive shook his head, “he’ll be fine-” 

“I’m not worried about that- i’m just- I don’t have to worry about him do i?” Luke asked, “he won’t come looking for me?” 

“No. he won’t. You have nothing to worry about so don’t be scared- alright?” 

“But- you seem scared-” Luke said, “and if you’re scared then it’s worth worrying about! You’re never this worried about me-” 

“..” Clive shrugged, “it’s really nothing to worry about, I promise- I just- I never planned on him ever knowing who you were- and now that he knows .. I don’t want him bothering you-” Clive said, “plus- I don’t think he’ll be moving much anyways after that-” 

“Did you do something?” 

“A little …” Clive said. 

Meanwhile Alfendi struggled to get up. 


	39. Chapter 39

He had to tell him. But- he couldn't figure out the tight time to do it. The two of them were just now waking up, surprised that nothing in their room was actually missing. 

Things were fine- but … 

Luke watched Clive as he dug through his drawers for something to wear that wasn't the stupid school's uniform. He didn't have many clothes of his own, pulling out. White sweater with black sleeves. 

"Are you going somewhere or something?" Luke asked, sitting on the bed with a bowl of cereal. Clive shook his head, "no .. im just-" He stopped, "actually i forgot-" he mumbled, closing the drawer. "You wanna go out today? I'm- bored-" he said, and Luke looked at him. 

"You mean like … a date?"

"Yea-"

"..." Luke looked down at his cereal, and thought about it. A date might just be the perfect time to tell him something like this. Or- should- he just say it now? 

"Lukey~?" Clive asked, and Luke looked at him, before looking away, "uh- let me go check the mailbox-" he said, getting up, looking for any excuse to take a little more time to think. Clive started to say something, wondering if maybe he shouldn't have asked. Did Luke just not wanna go out? He could have said so- unless- he was still upset about the whole birthday thing … he walked over to the side, and pulled back the curtains, staring out the window of their dorm, watching Luke like a paranoid old man. He was just checking the mailbox, but still, you never know who might pop up... It really was like living in an apartment with someone sometimes, and that didn't make it any better, the fact that there were people everywhere, he couldn't imagine leaving Luke here alone …

He stopped, and pulled away, realizing he was going insane at this point. There was just- so much to worry about- all the time- or maybe he was giving himself a lot to worry about? He was just- worried.

His phone rang, and he flinched, focusing on calming down before pulling it out of his pocket. It was Dahlia. She'd been trying to get in contact with him ever since he said what he said, and it was honestly kind of funny.

He answered, "stop calling me-"

"Tell me! What did you mean?!"

"You'll see-"

"No I won't! Touch me and I'll kill you!"

"Alright-" he hung up … and she called him back. 

"Wait- i'm sorry-!"

He hung up, and she called back, but he didn't answer. He wasn't going to do anything, obviously, he just said that to freak her out, knowing she probably stressed herself out so much on the regular that tricking her into doing it would be easy, and it worked. He felt a little bad about it now, but- the 17th was right around the corner, and now that he thought about it- there was one thing he wished would happen ...

And it was absolutely hilarious too, but- he was starting to wonder if maybe this was too much. He jumped a little as the door opened, and looked over to see Luke, with a sort of concerned look on his face. “Um- um-” he looked away, and Clive moved away from the window, trying to make it a little less obvious that he was looking out of it. 

“S-so- I-” Luke cleared his throat, “I wanted to do something nice for you- and- uh- I- i-” Luke took in a breath- “I decided- t-to um- look for your parents.” 

“...  _ what- _ ” Clive was completely lost, but intrigued. “I- I couldn’t find any people with the last name dove- s-so I started looking at hospital records- um- M-Mom is a doctor so I just- I snuck around and people didn’t see me i guess-” Luke shook his head. “But I found a woman- who had a son- and passed away- a-as soon as she did- um- and- a- a man signed the birth certificate-” 

“Luke - are you- telling me you found my dad or something?” 

“M-maybe?” Luke held the letter in his hands. “I found a guy- but- something’s wrong- he’s … well- he’s german- He doesn’t speak any english at all-”

“...” Clive came over to him, “y-you wrote to him?” 

“I did! I asked him what he looked like- since I remember you said you knew- I couldn’t find any pictures of him- even getting his current address took me a long time- and it would have taken way longer without Desmond being such a creep! Did you know he knows how to find people’s addresses and stuff?” Luke asked, holding out the letter. 

Clive took it, and Luke smiled nervously, “i’m sorry- I don’t know if it’s him- and- I don’t know if you can read or speak any german or not-” 

He stood there, watching Clive as he read through it … Luke saw his face turn from confused, to concerned, to blank. He stared at the letter, and Luke wondered if maybe he shouldn’t have done this. 

“German … is- my language- I’m from … oh my god-” Clive said, and Luke gave him a sort of shocked look. “Really? Wait- is that why you’re so bad at reading?” 

“..” Clive sat down, squinting at the page. “Do you know what this says?” He asked, and Luke shook his head, “I used a translator, I was just hoping I had everything right … um- I told him- that I knew your mom- and that his son was looking for him- but to make sure I had the right person I wanted him to describe how he looked-” 

“I can’t believe he responded to something so sketchy-” Clive smiled, and Luke grinned, “I got it right?!” 

“... My dad- is a guy with black hair- and blue eyes- and from what i could see in the pictures- he’s got this gross beard, and he looks like he lifts …” Clive set the letter down. “This guy is blonde.” He said, tapping the letter. He seemed.. a little upset ..

“... oh … i’m sorry-” Luke said, and Clive shook his head, sniffling, 

“He dyed his hair-” 

  
  


His voice was starting to crack a little as he continued, “he says- he has annoying black roots- and- he complained about wanting to dye his beard so it would match and the people at the gym wouldn’t make fun of him-” Clive choked up. "He said- his eyes are crystal blue- he bragged about them- what a loser .." he chuckled, and took in a breath, letting out a shaky, pained sigh. “He talked about the scar on his neck- he told you the same stupid story about a bear attack- the one he used to tell me when I was little-” He hiccupped, tears dripping on the floor. 

“He- said- He’s sorry- He apologized a lot- He was scared- so he ran- and remarried- but he said-” Clive sucked up his tears, but it didn’t help. “That- he never stops thinking about it- but when he went back to get me I was already gone- and after that they brought me here- and I got my name changed- it was their fault he couldn’t find me!” Clive held up the letter, "he said he just gave up- and it was his biggest regret- he said- my real name-" Clive looked over at Luke, “the ink- on the blue paper- it’s all smeared up! Luke- he cried when He wrote this- He was probably so happy- and he actually wants to see me- and he’s not dead- I have- a dad-!” Clive looked away, “an actual one …"

“...” Luke walked over to him, and gave him a hug, “happy birthday ..” He said, forcing Clive to just- piss tears from his eyes. 

"I've never- nobody- has ever called me Klaus- I thought i would be happy to feel like I did- when i was little- but hearing my own name- why does it hurt so much?" He suddenly stopped, and got up, “ugh- don’t- don’t- I don’t wanna cry- I wanna be happy about it-” He sniffled- and wiped his face. Luke just grinned, “it’s okay to cry … your- real name is Klaus?" 

"..." Clive turned red, "i- Yeah- but- don't call me that- and don't tell anyone-"

"Whaa? Why not?"

"Because- it's not my name anymore so it's weird- and only my dad has ever called me that-" 

"..." Luke moved over onto the bed, and sat down, "tell me about him! What was he like?" He asked, and Clive looked down … he thought about it, did he even remember? 

"The only things i can say for sure- was that- he always seemed happy- at least when he was near me- he never really yelled at me- or- told me anything bad- but the house was always dirty- and I used to get sick a lot … sorry- i'm trying to remember" he squinted down at the floor, and Luke silently paid attention, just figuring he'd wanna talk about it. 

"I remember he'd always bring a different girl home all the time- and if they ever got in an argument- he wouldn't let it happen when i was around- he'd always make her leave- or they'd go outside- and i used to get scared that someone would hurt him- but- nobody ever did. Most of the time though- it was just us- and when he wasn't gone and i wasn't at daycare or- something- he would just- sit there and say the dumbest stuff to me-" Clive smiled, "he told me all these stories- and they always had such happy endings- or he'd go workout and I'd go with him- and he'd give me these tiny weights and go-  _ a hundred times! _ And even though i never could lift it a hundred times- he'd just pretend like i did it- and it was just- i know it sounds stupid but those are the happiest memories i have-" he said. 

Luke nodded … "he- reminds me of Desmond-" Luke said, and Clive looked over at him- "huh?" 

"You know- big- loves girls- really goofy- likes to workout-"

"... I- never- thought about it like that .." Clive said, looking down at the floor. "i guess he is kind of like him- but- I don't think my dad was that weird- he was more like- funny- Dez just tries to make you uncomfortable because it's funny to him-" Clive said. "And he's sort of a bully-" he added.

"You're a bully-" Luke said.

"Yea ok  _ pukey _ "

"Hmf" Luke crossed his arms, and Clive smiled, "this is such a weird thing to happen all of a sudden- do you know if I can write back to him?"

"I don't see why not- maybe you should tell him what you look like now? So he doesn't feel weirded out-"

"I guess … I should ask him to call me- so I can talk to him .." 

"What's his name?" Luke asked, and Clive looked down at the letter … " I don't remember- he just- signed it with "Nello" but- is that his name or an alias?" 

"Well- let's send him a letter and find out-"

"..." Clive just smiled, laying back on the bed with a huge sigh, "he's alive …" he hiccupped, " _ oh god" _ and started crying again. Luke just laid down with him, and held onto him, stroking his head. 

"You should have told me it was your birthday-" he said, kissing his forehead. "I love you- so don't leave me out- please?"

"Mm" Clive nodded, "you're- fucking amazing- i'm just- I didn't want it to end up being all about me- i love you too- and I don't think i've ever felt like this before- so i just- I don't know how to act- i'm sorry-" 

"I get it- me too .." Luke said, and Clive grinned, and kissed him, pulling him into a tight hug. 

“S-so … um-” Luke said, “I’ve been trying to find out how to tell you- for a while- t-that- I-” He struggled to find the words, “I-” 

Clive looked at him, and sat up, wondering if something was wrong. He looked at Luke, who put a hand on his stomach, and turned red, “w-well- remember valentines day?” 

“.. yeah? Did you get sick from the chocolate or something?” He asked, and Luke shook his head. “It wasn’t the chocolate- it- um- y-you-” Luke covered his face up, 

“...” Clive just looked at him, and Luke peeked at him through his fingers. “I-inside-” 

“.. wh-what?” 

“You did it- inside- s-so now-” Luke looked away, and Clive tried to piece together what he was talking about. 

_ I have to tell you something _

_ Remember valentines day? _

_ You did it inside, so now … _

“You’re- … You’re-” He turned red himself, “Luke tell me you’re not pregnant-” 

The boy nodded, and Clive just looked at him. The two were completely quiet, Luke sat up too, “I- I took another test- and- it- it also came out positive-” He said. Clive was staring off into space, the only thing he could think to say in response was, “i’m sorry-” even if it wasn’t entirely a bad thing. He looked down, and Luke, for some reason, smiled. “But it’s- gonna be okay- right?”

“...”

“C-clive- right?” 

“..” Clive was quiet, he just looked at Luke, a slightly concerned, horrified, saddened expression on his face. Luke got a little worried, “why are you making that face?” He asked, and Clive looked down, putting a hand through his hair, “ .. o-okay- okay-” Clive nodded, “and- you’re sure- about it?” 

Luke nodded, and Clive looked away. “I’m ..” He smiled, and laid down next to Luke, pulling him close. “Do you feel alright?” He asked, and the boy just sat there, confused. He nodded, “I feel normal for the most part, everything just feels the way it always does, it’s just weird- to know it’s in there …” He flinched a little as Clive slid his hand up his shirt, feeling his stomach. 

“It was gonna happen one day probably anyways .. I just- can’t believe I did it again ..” He mumbled, and Luke sighed, “you won’t feel anything yet- it’s too early-” 

“I know- I just- you’re squishy-” Clive mumbled, feeling his stomach even more. He sighed, and Luke gave him a little smile. Clive was saying all kinds of things now, asking how long it would be before it came out, trying to look through Luke’s belly button. Luke was happy that he wasn’t freaking out, for some reason it made him feel like everything was gonna be okay. 

But there were still other things to worry about, would he have to leave school like Sophia did? Maybe he could go and live with Clive, it wasn’t like they didn’t have the money to get a place to stay, but- it was- too early for all of that- right? 

Luke gasped as Clive started tickling him out of nowhere. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me! I’m so mad!” He huffed, and Luke squirmed, “aa-! S-stop it!” He whined, uncontrollably giggling before it was all over, and he was free to lay back down. He sighed, and Clive kissed his cheeks, all of a sudden getting a lot more touchy-feely-lovey-dovey than he usually would be at any time for  _ any  _ reason. 

Luke sighed, “Cwive-” He mumbled, rubbing his eyes. 

“You tired now? Take a nap- I’ll clean up the kitchen and stuff-”

“Eh -but- what’s wrong with you all of a sudden?”

“Nothing! I’m just- i’m just happy-” Clive said, “I know the situation is all wrong- but- fuck it! Right? Luke we’re like- an actual family now-” 

“...” Luke realized then, just how much this meant to him. In just a few simple words. He’d given a family to someone who didn’t have one, and this was the response. 

“Well- happy birthday ..” He said, smiling as Clive kissed at his face. He just couldn’t stop, but- it was refreshing to see him like this ...

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Today … is march 17th. 

Dahlia stared at the girl waiting for the bus, she was … tall, really tall, blonde, super curvy. She had- a massive chest, and thick legs, and- she had her hair pulled back onto two long braids. Her face was dusted with freckles, and she had a mole under her eye. She was wearing the school’s uniform, black blazer with a dark blue shirt and skirt. 

  
  


A skirt, a short one, but- that- wasn’t the issue with her. 

She squinted as Clive walked right up to her, holding Luke in his arms like a teddy bear, showing him off. Luke squirmed, and the two bumped fists like they were best friends …

“DEE-!!” She screamed, pointing at her, realizing who she was, and the girl looked over, before smiling, and waving. 

“Hiii!! It’s been so long!” 

“Fucking take that off right now!” 

“Whaat?” She asked. Her voice was sort of raspy, high pitched and full of personality. Dahlia walked over, “what’s wrong with you!” 

“I- don’t understand?” 

“Desmond!” 

“Who?” 

Clive looked at them both, watching them as they argued. This was something that just- happened- once a year. But it was convenient that he agreed to do it on the day Clive asked him to.

“This is his sister-” Clive said, and the girl nodded, holding her hand out. “Hi! I’m Deandra- but- you can call me-” 

“DeeDee- can you fucking not?” 

“Ah! You already know my name?! Weird-” 

Clive smiled, “maybe she has a crush on you or something- I heard she likes girls- watch out-” He laughed, moving out of the way as she tried to hit him. “It’s not funny! Every time she shows up she tries to take over!”

“...” Clive snorted, “mmhmm …” He nodded, and she shook her head. “Go home and change-!  _ What are you going to do if Emmy sees you like this? _ ” 

Dez shrugged, “kiss her and see what happens?” 

“...” Dahlia sighed, and looked over at Clive, who smiled innocently back at her. “Until tomorrow~” he said, and she sighed. “Look- I’m- I apologize about the whole closet thing- just- tell him to stop? Please?” 

“...” Clive looked at Dee, and shrugged, “you feel like stopping?” 

“Not really- If I change clothes I'll be late--” 

“Well- he doesn’t want to- it’s out of my hands~ oh noooo~” Clive said, starting to walk off. “But anyways- it’s just until tomorrow-” He said. “You two have fuuun~”

“you’re such a bitch ..” She mumbled, and Dee whimpered, “that’s so mean! Dolly~ how could you say that?”

“Just- Don’t get in my way!” She stomped off, deciding to walk to school so she could blow off some steam. He just watched her as she went .. This should be fun. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Dez stood in the hallway, waiting for Clive to come back. He wasn't surprised nobody recognized him, though, people did seem freaked out by such a tall girl walking around. He held onto his bag, leaning against the lockers as he saw a familiar face come by. 

It was Emmy, he watched Emmy as she looked around for him, he didn’t think this would be so funny, but it was. She kept looking around like she didn't see him, and then she realized … that she didn't recognize him. Or- maybe she couldn't smell loser anymore since it was covered up by perfume.

  
  


She turned towards him, and hesitated to come closer. Was she always this shy around people she doesn't know? It's … kinda cute. He wasn't used to her not immediately jump kicking him whenever she walked by, so he waved, and she flinched, shuffling over to him. 

"Uh- have you seen a g-guy around here? He's- about your height- long hair- red glasses-" 

"Umm … nope- but I wouldn't mind helping you find him-" 

"A-ah that's okay! he’s always running off somewhere! I should put a tracker on him- i’ll stick it in his eye ..” She grumbled, and he thought briefly about what it would feel like to have something jammed in his eye before snapping out of it.

“What is he? Like- your friend or something?” He asked.

“He’s my boyfriend-” Emmy said, casually. The only thing he could think of was OH MY GOD SHE ACTUALLY SAID IT TO SOMEONE OUT LOUD. Before realizing he had been quiet for suspiciously long. 

“Maybe he’s in class?” He suggested, and she huffed, getting a little frustrated obviously, “he’s not! I know his schedule-"

“Ah .. maybe he’s with his friends?”

“He might be … you- remind me- of someone- can- I tell you something?” She asked, and Dez smiled. 

“Sure! I've been wanting to make some new friends anyway- I'm- uh- Chris-” He said, thinking Dee might be too obvious.

“i'm- E-emmy-" Emmy looked around, before pulling the other girl off to the side. The two stood together, alone in the hallway. “ it’s- sort of- a personal question- I know it’s weird since you don’t know me but- I don’t know- you seem- like I can trust you- s-so- I just wanted to ask- have you- ever done it with anyone?” 

“...” He looked at her … before quietly nodding. "I love talking about this stuff- it's always so secretive but it's actually really fun-"

This- was dangerous territory, but- it seemed like it was really bothering her, so he did sort of want to help, in a weird, “well I care about you” sort of way. If she needed to know something to ease her mind then why not tell her?

“Did it hurt?” She asked, pushing her fingers together, “i think- he wants to do it- but he’s a lot bigger than me- and- I don’t wanna tell him I’m scared- but I’m scared he’s just gonna try one day and I- I won’t know what to do- or it’ll hurt really bad ..” 

“.. it- it shouldn’t hurt-” He said, getting a little worried about what she thought he was going to do. “if it hurts then there’s something wrong- maybe a little bit at first- if you’ve never done it before- but-” He cleared his throat, god, this was weird. What would a normal girl tell another girl about this sort of thing? 

“I think that if he doesn’t make sure you’re okay then he probably doesn’t care- and he’s not worth worrying about- if at any point it starts to get really uncomfortable- then it’s time to stop-” She said, and Emmy nodded. “M-maybe I should just dump him before he can get the chance-” 

“.. you say that like you’re expecting him to just- jump on you one day- He’s not- hurting you or something right?” 

“Huh? N-no! I- I don’t think he’d ever do something like that! I- I just think … I don’t wanna waste his time- he’s not even a virgin so I- I’m probably gonna do something stupid and embarrassing and he won’t like me anymore-” 

“Well- you don’t know for sure- he’s liked you up until now right? Why would something so stupid drive him off? He’s not that shallow ...” 

“I don’t know … I can never tell what he’s thinking-” She said, “He does this thing- super weird- he acts like a huge pervert all the time but it’s all just- jokes- it makes it hard to tell what’s going on with him- past that dumb grin-” She huffed, and Dez sighed. “Sounds like he’s hiding something .." He admitted, but he always thought that was obvious anyways.

“You think so?” She asked.

“Maybe- or- maybe he just doesn’t want anyone to know what he has going on- some guys are like that- they don’t wanna push their problems on people- so they just pretend they don’t have any-”

“Mm … do you really think that’s it?” She said.

He shrugged, “what do you think?”

“... I think- He’s just scared people won’t like him if he acts normal- because- if you take away all the weird stuff he says- he’s just a dweeb-” She crossed her arms, “but … I mean … I like him …” she looked down at the floor, “Is that not gonna be enough?” 

“...” Dez sighed, “you’re- such a mess-” He said, and she looked up. “You’re way more than enough- there’s no reason you should doubt it-” 

“... we- should hang out later!” she said, before turning red. “Sorry- sorry- nevermind- just- for some reason I just like talking to you-"

“No! I’d love to!” He said, knowing full well she could use more friends. This wouldn’t be a bad thing right? Technically it’s lying … but it’s for a good cause. She just wants someone to talk to. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


"There you are!" Emmy yelled, Dez had gone home and changed clothes after hanging out with her all day. He forgot that he was still a person, actually, and that Dee/Chris wasn't real. 

He'd just been outside a store, staring down at his phone, texting her from the second number he made so they could talk. He immediately shoved his phone in his pocket, and she walked up, skipping the greeting punch and just … freezing in place. 

The last time she spoke to Dee, it was about … how to ask him, if he wanted to do the bedroom tango- and .. he told her to be as direct as possible.

"S-so-" she said, and he was completely quiet, a little scared, actually. "i- i was- just- like- uh- s-stop looking at me!!" She said, and he looked away. 

"Sorry~ it's just that you usually hit me before you talk to me~ i miss it-" He jokingly said, before getting a light tap to the arm. 

"Weirdo- i just- wanted to ask- if- if- you- wanted to-" she froze up again …

Of all the things, he never would have guessed she'd be shy about saying this. He kind of always imagined her throwing him at a wall and ripping his soul out in one violent sexual act, but maybe he guessed wrong? 

"A- d-date-" she said …

"You wanna go on a date? Sure-" he agreed, and she looked away, "w-wait- that's not what I- you messed me up! Ugh- I hate you!"

"I'm- sorry?"

"Just- shut up and come over tomorrow!" She said, before making her escape, walking back in the direction she came from.

He watched her go … and smiled, well- a date is nice too.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


He pressed the doorbell … and the door swung open. She looked at him, turned red, and slammed the door in his face. 

"Go home!" She yelled, and he stood there for a second, not going anywhere. He was mostly just shocked that she was this freaked out about even the thought of doing something that he did all the time … but he guessed- if it's the first time then it is sort of special right? 

weirdly enough he didn't even remember his own first- maybe it was a bad memory- who knows?

She opened the door again, and peeked through it at him …

"..." He held out a box, and shook it. She opened the door, and took it from his hand, it was just a box of chocolate pretzels, but- 

"F-fine- you can come in-" she said, moving over to let him through the doorway. 

He walked in, and went over to the couch, sitting down. No weird uncle in sight, a good sign …  _ or not- actually- maybe it's not a good idea for them to be alone- _

"Um-" she said, "g-go upstairs!" She commanded … but he felt like poking the bear a little.

"Hm? Why?"

"B-because! I said so!"

"But why do you say so?"

"Because!" She blushed, and he got up, wondering just how far this would go. "Whatever you say~!" He said, going up the stairs, forgetting for a second which door was hers. 

She followed him after just a few more seconds, and opened the second door, face full of chocolate pretzels. "Go- sit-" she said, and he did. He sat down on her bed, it was just as soft as it was before, rich people and their fancy mattresses.

She looked at him … and looked down, nervously shuffling over. When she sat down next to him, it was like everything stopped, and she couldn't breathe. 

She tossed the box to the side, "I-" She started to say, meanwhile Dez got distracted in his own mind thinking about whether or not he'd done his homework before snapping back to the situation at hand. 

She gripped the sleeve of his blazer, "can- we- I-"

He … felt sort of bad. She was this scared to ask? And she wasn't gonna do it on her own either probably. 

"You wanna make out?" He asked, and she looked at him, "N-no! Why would you say that?!"

He shrugged, "Cause I do-"

"... I don't know how-" she admitted, "so it's your fault if something goes wrong-"

"It's just a kiss- nothing will go wrong-" he assured her, and she looked away, "... Don't do anything weird-"

"I won't~! I promise!" 

".." she turned back towards him, and he leaned down, hoping to god she didn't immediately punch him in the nose. It .. would be nice, but not now! Later- 

He kissed her, and she exhaled through her nose, lips trembling against her own. It tasted like chocolate, for him at least. 

She pulled away when a tongue licked her own, "w-what- are you doing?!" 

"... Sorry- you wanna stop?" He asked, and she looked away, heart throbbing. "No …"

"It's okay- we don't have to do any of this stuff-" he said, and she looked at him, "but- you'll get bored .."

" .. what? Oh my god-" he said, "Is that why-" he stopped, almost about to give away his secret. 

"E-emmy I'd never get bored of you- I like you- a lot- really …"

".." she looked away, "you don't- mean that-" 

"I do! I'm being serious- I don't hang around you just because i wanna fuck you or something like that- i just- like you- it's way more than that- i swear-" 

"But-" she looked like she was going to cry, so he backed up a little, giving her some more space. "It's not that- i just- i wanna- too- but- I can't-" 

" … if- if you just wanna see what it feels like- and if you like it or not- i get that too- and I don't mind-" 

"..." She nodded, and turned back towards him. There wasn't a lot of time between that and when they started kissing again, it just sort of, happened. It kept going, and going, she'd never felt anyone else's tongue before, but for some reason she liked it? Especially when that tongue licked over her neck, and lips pressed against it, kissing, soft and gentle. His hand started to slide up her shirt, but she didn't protest, holding onto his other hand as he squeezed what little chest she had to offer. 

He sighed, and she tensed a little at the feeling of breath moving past her ear. She bit her lip, gasping as he pulled at her nipple, brushing over it with his thumb. 

Their lips connected, and she wondered about whether or not she should be doing something. Her hands moved up, resting on his shoulders before her arms wrapped around them. Both of his hands were exploring her body, rubbing her back, it felt … really nice actually. 

She was surprised she liked it, honestly, she never thought she would. 

He pulled away, needing to breathe for a second before feeling her move over. "G-get out-" she said, and he gave her a confused look. 

"Did i do something?"

She shook her head, "I- just- i'm hot- i feel weird-" 

" … oh- you're just horny it's normal-" he said, and she huffed, "Girls dont do that!"

".. yea they do-" he said, and she turned completely red, "j-just- leave!"

He nodded, and got up, "it was fun- we should hang out normally sometimes-" he said, and she looked away. 

"W-when .."

".. um-" he shrugged, "text me? You can choose-" 

She nodded … and he closed the door …

She covered her face and screamed.


	40. Pre test

Henry watched as Dez pulled up his stockings, apparently he was getting ready to go somewhere …

“Um..” He said, sitting on his bed with a pen and a calculus book. He wanted to study, but the sight of this, he just couldn’t get it out of his head. 

“Ya?” Dez asked, using his phone as a mirror. Henry was a little speechless … he looked down at his book, and closed it. “Um- I don’t mean to be intrusive but- what- exactly might you be doing?” He asked, getting a look that said “none of your business”. 

“I- i mean- it’s just- uh-” He cleared his throat, “you didn’t strike me as the type to be into that sort of thing- I just- this is a little strange- no?”

“...” Dez hummed, “I’m gonna go into the girls bathroom and watch them pee-”

“A- I- you-”

“I’m joking- Look it’s a long story-” He said, “but it ends with me and the girl of my dreams and a happy wedding and white horses or something so just pretend like you don’t see me-” He said. 

Henry shifted, and looked away, “your getup is very convincing- I knew you were into theatrics but I had no idea you could do makeup-” 

“I’m a makeup GOD! If you think this is impressive you should meet this guy- his name’s Don- he’s found ways to turn himself into just about anyone-” He said, and Henry sighed. “Are you going on a date with someone?” he asked, and Dez shook his head. 

“... if you and Clive are- y-you know you can tell me right?”

“... I-” Dez thought about it, the thought of doing anything with Clive while he was dressed like this, was strange to say the least. “Uh- no ..” He said, and that was the end of that conversation. 

“Hm … say, we only have until may … two months until final exams, and then school is over-” He said. “I hate your guts but I have to say, I’m gonna miss looking at these swords every day, and your stupid jokes …”

“Don’t get all weird on me- Henry- I’ll still see you later man-” He said, walking towards the door. Henry sighed, “I- i Mean it! I’ll miss you-” He said, and Dez nodded, not wanting to get sucked back into the depths of their relationship. The door shut … Henry looked down at his book, and opened it again. He was sort of shocked that the guy found someone else to be with so easily, and so did Clive. 

He felt … replaceable. 

But any attempt at forming something more always went down like this. He gripped his pencil, and shook his head.

Who has the time, anyways- not everyone can do it …

…

Emmy continuiously ripped up all of the stupid love letters he’d been slipping into her bag. She used to keep them, read them, but- not anymore. She’d tossed away every ring, deleted his contact, even threw away the pillow he slept on that one night. 

And then, she was brushing her teeth, wiping her lips off, unable to stop from feeling so embarrassed …

Finding out the supposed girl she'd been talking to was just .. him, manipulating her. It was gross.

Embarrassing, humiliating, it was all she could think of, curled up in bed, in complete silence. She started to wonder if maybe it was an overreaction, He wouldn’t purposely do something like that just to get information or- something weird like that- right? 

She already knew he did that- that he dressed up like that sometimes- and it wasn’t … weird- but the thought of him tricking her to get closer to her just made her wanna vomit, she just never wanted to think he was actually like that.

That he was actually some messed up pervert, it was just jokes, right? 

Just jokes- that’s what Luke always said, that’s what Clive always said, she couldn’t believe, she let him kiss her ..

She felt like she’d been used, and it was a disgusting feeling. 

But most of all, it was just … embarrassing … 

There was a knock, on the window .. she ignored it, knowing it was him. 

He knocked again, and she curled up. 

Just go away- just- go away!

He knocked, and said something, but the sound of his voice, it just- irritated her so much that she decided to get up, and wipe her face. She stepped out, dressed in yellow pajamas, hair a complete mess as she walked over to the window. She looked at him … and he looked down, “i’m sorry-” he said. 

That was it? One stupid apology?

She slid open the window, deadpanning at him before she started to push him out. 

“W-wait wait wait! Really! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to hurt you!” He said. She growled, and shoved him, but he held onto the window, nearly falling off the side of the house. 

“Please! I don’t wanna come in- I just-” He stopped, looking up at her, to see that she was holding it all in. holding in the tears, holding in the screams, holding in everything. 

“I’m- such a loser-” She said, “I don’t have any friends- I don’t have a boyfriend- the other girls all make fun of me- and the guy I like just wanted to use me-” She sniffled, “i have bad grades- i’m not pretty- i’m flat chested- and everyone says i’m mean! I thought- I finally found one person who liked me- I thought I actually had a friend- even My uncle wants to get rid of me-” She wiped her face, and Dez looked directly at her, she just cried, not saying anything else as he held onto the window. 

“Emmy … I’m- sorry …” he said. “It wasn’t- I- I admit- I really- really- really shouldn’t have done that- but- I wasn’t trying to get you to do anything- I was just-” He sighed, “i- actually I guess i was- I shouldn’t lie about it- but that wasn’t the only reason- I just- I’ve never had anyone just be so- open- with me- and i love you- so I wanted to know everything- I was just doing what I thought a girl would do- giving you all that advice about what to do- but - i’m a guy so it just ended up being stuff I would want you to do- and i’m sorry- that’s- fucked up-” He said. “But of all the people I could hurt I seriously don’t want one of them to be you- I know I act like an idiot all the time- and I’m hard to read- so for once i’ll be serious-” He pulled himself up a little, and she looked at him. 

“I love you … and I’m sorry-” He said, “I get it if you don’t want me around anymore- or if after this- you never wanna see me again- and I’ll stay out of your way- I just- had to say something- I had to apologize- I couldn’t just ... “ He shook his head, “I’ll- be going-” he said, before being stopped by a hand on his head. 

“... it’s not fair-” She said, pushing his hair out of his face. “You have to tell me every embarrassing secret you have- and get your hair out of your face- I wanna see you when you say it-” she wiped her eyes, “you have to feel how I feel ..” 

“... Can I come in?” he asked, and she moved, letting him climb through the window. She shut it, and locked it again, closing her curtains as he sighed, and sat down on the bed. 

“I’m serious! I wanna know everything!” 

“... t-there’s- a lot- anything in specific?” He said, and she looked at him. “... the most embarrassing thing you can think of-” she said. 

He … looked down, and thought about it, before putting a hand over his face. “... don’t tell anyone-” he said, and she nodded. 

He was quiet, he looked like he was working up the nerve to actually say it, “ I used to have- a problem- with- doing the- uh-” He did a hand motion, “three knuckle shuffle- in public- when I was little- I just- I was a kid and I didn’t get that it wasn’t something you’re supposed to do just anywhere- I thought it was like peeing and so as long as you were just in the bathroom it’s fine-” 

“.. e-ew-” 

“It- gets worse- Obviously I learned better when I got older- but- sometimes I still forget …”

“... w-what’s wrong with you?”

“I don’t- know! I just- it’s not even that I want to- like that- all the time- i’m not even horny I just do it cause I get bored but then I realize that I’m stuck in the bathroom at a party jerking off and I feel like a fucking- disgusting animal!” He said, “I just- I just- it’s- The worst thing i could think of-” 

“...” She looked away, “that’s not enough- tell me another-” 

“...” He sighed, “I’m also- a prostitute- I- when I go to school- most people know me as just- the guy you can pay if you wanna “have some fun.” and sometimes- i feel- like my body belongs to someone else- but- most of the time I actually like feeling used …” 

“... another-” She said, and he sighed. “ I’m scared of babies- they’re just- really creepy to me-”

“Another one-”

“ I’ve never actually had a girlfriend-” 

“...” She looked away, “that’s not embarrassing-” she mumbled, sitting next to him. “It makes you more like me- what’s so bad about that? It’s hard to find someone who isn’t a piece of shit-” She said, and he nodded …

“You know- the only reason I let my hair grow out was because a girl told me I looked cute- and it was one of the only times I ever got complimented- it just- stuck with me- I want people to like me- but I don’t really know how to act around them- I always feel like- somehow- it won’t end well-” He said, and she looked away …

"I'm sorry- i swear i wasn't trying to trick you …"

"Liar- you should have just told me it was you- i thought you were avoiding me .."

"I'm sorry .."

It was quiet ...

"it’s fine to just wait for someone you really like-” she brushed her hand across his, and he turned red. “ i- yeah ...” He said, and she looked over at him, “I- I guess there's no point in hiding what I wanna do now … do you mind?" she looked away. 

“... i mean- if- you want to- but- are you okay with it? Even after ...” He said, and she nodded, leaning up, kissing him. He felt, bad still, but- this felt good. It was confusing, he tilted his head, letting his hands slide up her arms, onto her shoulders, cupping her face. 

She placed hers over his wrists, and pulled away, needing to breathe for a second …

“I- can I-?” He started to say something, and she nodded, yes, whatever it is, yes. 

She laid back, feeling a sort of cold hand slide up her stomach, lips moving against her neck. At that point, Dez started to remember everything she said about being scared, thinking it would hurt, so he slowed down. Eventually, he slowed to a stop, and hesitated to move any more than he already had.

She was laying there, breathing labored, eyes having long fluttered shut, until then, when she looked up to see his nervous face. 

She started to say something, but before she could, he moved away, “maybe- some other time- it’s just-” 

“.. d-did I do something?” She said, and he shook his head, “it’s not you! It’s not-”

“It is! You don’t have to lie- but you can at least tell me what I did- I’ve never done this so I don’t know how!” 

“E-Emmy-” He panicked a little, “It’s just that I really- don’t wanna hurt you- that’s all-”

“If you don’t hurry it up I'm gonna hurt you instead! You can’t just leave me like this! It’s not fair!” She said, and he just looked at her … 

Okay, Don’t be a bitch, come on, you’ve done this plenty of times! It’s one girl, a small one at that, nothing to worry about, nothing to worry about- nothing to-

She nudged him, and he looked down at her, she just- seemed so different now, it was weird, the whole situation was weird, and he couldn’t calm down for the life of him. 

“It’s okay … if it hurts I’ll tell you- l-like we talked about- you know?” she said, and he just- gave her a nod, hoping this didn’t go poorly. What should he do now? Probably start with something easy for her, something she’d like. He thought about it, starting to undress her without really thinking about it. He let his mind run with every place he could touch, he did wanna see it all, if not tonight then eventually. 

Her shirt fell to the floor, along with her bra, she just watched him, he seemed focused. She hoped she was doing this right, after all, she was just laying there, should she be moving? Should she touch him too? Did he even wanna be touched? Touched where? 

She flinched, coming back to reality as those soft yellow pants hit the ground, and her legs felt cold. Her whole body was exposed, well, almost. 

“Y-you’re sure?” he asked, again, and she huffed, “stop asking me if I’m sure! I said I wanted to do it so just do what you wanna do already! If you ask again I'm- k-kicking you out!” she said, covering her face. 

“...” He snickered, hooking a finger around the fabric, pulling it down, and off. She closed her legs almost immediately, and then he pulled back, starting to pull off his own clothes. His heart was racing, even after doing this a million times, he was sort of weirded out by the fact that this felt oddly similar to the first time. 

Only- better? 

Maybe it was because somewhere through the numbers he just got lost, and stopped caring about all the little details, but this time it just- felt like … well- it felt real? He wasn’t sure- how to put it into words. 

“Oh-” she mumbled, and he looked up, she’d just been watching him strip, peeking through the cracks in her hands, he was in the middle of taking his pants off now …

“You know you can look- right?” 

“H-huh? Shut up! You wanna be looked at or something? You- weirdo- creep! Freak!” she rolled over, and he couldn’t help but laugh, silently, trying not to make it too obvious. His pants hit the floor, and she flinched, curling up even more. 

“You know what we’re doing right? Why wouldn’t I want you to look-” He said, laying his hand down on her side. He peered over her shoulder, and she shrugged …

“You wanna stop?” he asked, and she shook her head no, mumbling, “just do it-” 

".. e-emmy?" 

"Just do it!"

“... okay- it’s done-” He said, just wondering what she would do. She turned her head, and he nodded, “how was it?” he asked, trying to affirm that it was all over now. It was a little funny, at first she seemed really disappointed, and she looked at him …“It- wasn’t that bad- is that really it?” she said.

He nodded, and she looked down, just staring at … it. He didn’t say anything, it would probably be better if she just got to continue on her own, if she even would. 

“.. oh-” She blushed, and looked away from it, sitting up. 

“Hm?”

“Nothing- i just- nothing- nothing-” 

“You wanna touch it or something?”

“................ can i?”

“Please- I mean- uh yea- go ahead-” He said, watching her hand as it moved, she just barely brushed it down the side of it, and it started to twitch. She stared at it, and he said absolutely nothing as she continued poking at it, gripping the whole thing, she squeezed it, and he winced, 

“Ah- d-don’t-” 

“Why not? It’s moving- does it always do that?”

“It’s- uh-” He put his hand over hers, how is it possible she really knows nothing about this? It’s … kinda funny. But he really shouldn’t laugh, “we- we haven’t actually done anything- so you touching it just- makes it do that-” He tried to explain, guiding her hand, up and down. She seemed mesmerized by it, and eventually just did it on her own, curious about the way he was reacting. 

“This is a handjob by the way …” he said, and she pulled away, “ew! Why would you make me do that?!” 

“I …” He shrugged, unable to come up with an answer other than "for once it was appropriate.." 

“Hmf- so it’s not over? You- liar-”

“N-no - here- actually- can I show you something?” He asked, and she hesitated, laying back onto the pillows. “It’ll feel good- and it won’t hurt at all- i promise-” 

“What are you gonna do?” 

“I mean- it’s called oral but-” he lowered his head, “you'll see” 

… she gasped, and arched, closing her legs around his face almost immediately. She could feel his tongue scrubbing against her, lips kissing and closing around her. She reached down, grabbing a fistfull of his hair. He wasn’t exactly going easy, licking up between her labia, sucking the cute little button, reverting back to what he knew. She seemed … like she liked it. She was pulling pretty hard, He pushed her legs apart, keeping them still as she gripped her sheets and moaned his name out. 

“Wh- how- s- nh aa!!” her body hit the pillows, going limp. He was starting to get worried, so he stopped, and she immediately shoved his head back down, going “noo!!” trying to make him keep going. The way she moved her hips, needing that euphoric heat to come back to her, it was … hot. 

So he continued, each time her legs would twitch and try to close, he’d hold them down, keeping them wide open, giving himself access to … everything. Eventually she calmed down a little, getting used to the feeling, finding her own way to breathe as he let his tongue slip inside. The way she tasted, it made his head go numb, and after maybe just a few more seconds his face was completely wet. 

He let his fingers slip in after she started to grow still, one at a time, seeing how deep they could go, surprised at the feeling of heat around the digits, and the soft interior that squeezed his hand. Especially the way it twitched when he curled them up, flicking his tongue across her clit.

“Sn- it's too much-! fuckk!” she whined, but the tone of her voice was familiar to him. The wavering begging, high pitched squeals and curled toes. The way her stomach tensed up, she was about to erupt, no way was he stopping now. 

She covered her mouth up, and her hips jolted, a liquid coming out. He pulled back, and watched her as she stared down at the slowly forming puddle on the bed. It all just … came out. 

“Ngh ...nh-” He struggled with it for a minute, looking away, panting hard, just trying to breathe. 

“That- was pretty hot ..” he said, getting hit in the face with a pillow. 

“It’s everywhere-” 

Another pillow came hurling towards him.

“Wanna do it again?” 

“Noo!” She whined, out of pillows, “I can’t believe i- you made me- ugh!!” 

He moved, picking up his long discarded pants, “it’s fine- really- most guys dream of something like that happening to them-” He said, dropping the cloth after he found what he was looking for. 

“What do you mean it’s fine! I just- and it got on your face- and- and- what are you doing?” She asked, watching him as he slid a clear piece of rubber over his dick.

“Condom-” He said, and she just laid there, watching him as he did it. It wasn’t until he moved over, that she realized her legs were still wide open, but when she went to close them, he stopped her. “It’s- okay-” 

“A-are- you putting that- in there?” She asked, and he nodded, “can I?” 

“...-” She turned, her whole body, He figured she was just- scared- but he didn’t bother moving her back over. He just pulled her leg up, pressing his tip to-

“W-wait! Wait wait! That’s not gonna fit! Don’t!” 

“... it’ll be okay- i promise” he said, and she shook her head, “no it won’t!”

“Do you wanna stop?”

.. she nodded, and he leaned down, kissing her cheek. “It’s okay- you did good-”

“I- I’m sorry-”

“Don’t be- I had fun- we should do it again some other time if you want? We don’t have to go all the way- i’m just happy we got this far- okay?”

“...” She nodded, and he pulled away, “uh- I’m going to the bathroom- i’ll be back-” He said, grabbing his pants. She nodded … and just like that he was gone. She sat up, and looked down, inspecting the space between her legs. Gross, wet, But she was checking, none of it hurt, it still sort of- tingled a little bit. It felt different from the way she did it on her own, not nearly as good, maybe it was because someone else was doing it … but she was more shocked by the fact that it felt fine. 

She got up, or tried to, her legs gave out as soon as she tried to stand, and she fell back onto the bed, a little panicked. She wondered what was wrong with her legs, why she couldn’t move them, before feeling embarrassed, taking her soiled blanket, wrapping up in it, and hiding away from the world. 

After what felt like hours worth of waiting, the sink turned on. She listened to it as it ran, and then turned off, and the bathroom door opened. Dez came back into the room, seeing that she had balled herself up. 

“Are you okay?” he asked, picking his shirt up, She shuffled around, and stuck her head out through the blanket, “my legs-”

“Oh- my bad-” He said, and she shuffled a little.

“Don’t get dressed- just- come to bed- and turn the light off-” she said, and he smiled. “You look like a turtle sticking its head out of its shell-” he said, and she retreated back into the blanket, feeling much more comfortable in the darkness.

He went over to the bed, and got down, picking up the little blanket pile, and laying down with it in his arms. “I- I love you-” she said, and he smiled, staring off into space. 

“I can’t wait until the baby comes out-”

“W-what?!” 

…

"No you didn't-"

"Yes I did-"

"No you didn't-"

"Yes I did!" 

"You did not!" Clive said, blowing smoke into the air, standing behind the dumpster with Dez. 

"I did-" Dez said, and Clive squinted at him … "wow- so she actually doesn't hate you … wild." He said, and Dez sighed, "and you doubted me- you're not invited to our wedding~!" 

"Mm .. hey- guess what though? I've got news too-" Clive said, “Luke is pregnant” 

“... Clive …” Dez said, and Clive looked away, “yeah-” He sighed, “I know- but- at least this time I get to be a part of it- with Sophia it just sort of felt like- a let down … but this time it’ll be different-”

“What about Luke?” 

“He seems scared- so I made up my mind that no matter what- i’m gonna stick with him so he doesn’t have anything to worry about- I love him- and I wanna see him happy-” Clive smiled, “I wonder if it’s a boy or a girl- or if they’ll be like Luke-” 

“What do you want it to be?” 

“I don’t care-” 

“You want it to be a boy don’t you?”

“... I want a girl-” Clive mumbled, “It’s easy to talk to them- boys always have to be hiding something- plus- it’ll be easier to keep her away from boys than it would be to keep a boy away from girls-” 

“Pfft- but- what are you gonna do when she gets a boyfriend?”

“I don’t know … stab him?” Clive put out his cigarette, “but if it is a boy- then- that’d be cool too- not much of a change really …” he said. “Either way- i’ll be there ..”

“... I think you’d be a good dad-” He said, and Clive smiled, “ I’m gonna end up traumatizing the poor kid … have you thought about what you wanna do for a living?” Clive asked, and Dez shrugged. “Military pays nice- I could get a desk job, you know? So I won’t have to spend five years without seeing a woman and getting my leg cut off.” 

“Yeah- I thought you’d say that- plus- don’t they pay for college?”

“Yup-” Dez sighed, “yup …” 

“What’s wrong?” Clive looked over at him, he had his head down, he seemed so … depressed all of a sudden. 

“Nothing- just- I don’t wanna do that shit- I hate when people tell me what to do and the military is just- ugh-” He looked away. It was true, for someone who enjoyed being stepped on, it was only nice when it was done by pretty girls, and not 40 year old men with yellow teeth and bad breath. 

“... well why not start your own company? Be one of those- gross CEO types with a foot fetish-” 

“Start a company that does what?” 

“Well what do you like?” Clive asked, and Dez mumbled something along the lines of “girls” and “makeup” 

“Well start a talent agency-” Clive said, shoving his hands in his pockets. “With what money?”

“I’ll help-”

“But- Clive- that’s-”

“Shhh shshsh” Clive smooshed his face, “shut up- I want my own business so that in like ten years when everyone’s all grown up and stuff I can tell everyone who said I was stupid to kiss my ass- and having money is useless if you have no power too-”

“Oh … oh so you’re that kind of- okay ...” Desmond pushed his hand away, “okay … hm- how would we do something like that?”

“I don’t know- you do all the hard work and I’ll just keep you from making bad deals-” 

“... well i’ll need someone to start with-”

“Use Emmy-”

“But- but- Can I use you~?” 

“...” Clive thought about it, “mm .. no- use Emmy-”

“But-” 

“Think about it … you make her a famous model and she’ll be happy for the rest of her life- and rich-” 

“But she’s already rich-”

“Yeah but she’ll have a job- and that's a job she can brag about- she can tell people to kiss her ass too- and you know she probably wants to anyways- if she doesn’t wanna be like- a hired mercenary or something-” 

“... can i use both of you?” 

“GOD fine-” Clive mumbled, and Dez smiled, “well what were you going to do instead?” 

“I don’t fuckin know- like I said- I want something for myself but I don’t know what I’d do-” 

“... you could~ handle my finances-” 

“Deal-” 

“...” Dez smiled, “now we get to go to college together- right? We’ll be studying the same thing-”

“Mm.”

“Was that your plan? You could have just said you wanted to go to the same college-” 

“M.” Clive looked away …

“... you’re so cute” 

“Stop- calling me cute ..” Clive said, “Actually … Why don’t I just become a boxer and get paid to beat people up? I already do that anyways-” He said, and Dez thought about it … “Yeah- YEAH! You do that- I’ll be your manager!” 

“Fine then-” Clive said, and Dez grinned, “this is gonna go nowhere, what do you actually wanna do?” 

“I don’t know …” Clive slid down the wall, sitting on the ground. He blushed, thinking about everything he likes to do, “I like … singing- but- I can’t write lyrics-” 

“... yeah- your emo poems are kind of trash … but I always know what you’re thinking- so maybe I could write for you?” He said, and Clive scoffed, “You know me too well- it’s not fair- everything I could do- you just- have a way to insert yourself in it- why don’t YOU tell the truth for once and say you’re scared that after high school you’ll never see me again-” 

“...” Dez nodded, and Clive hummed, “always saying everything I think, speak for yourself- idiot- so what are we doing? After this-” He asked, and Dez nodded. “Make our company-” 

“Make me famous-” Clive added, and Dez grinned, “and get paid- is that the plan?”

“Exactly-” Clive got up, “I gotta go- but- it’s your job to work out all the details- alright?” He said, holding his hand out. 

“... we haven’t done this stupid handshake in a while-” Dez said, He’d never noticed, it was just sort of something they did to break the ice when they first became friends. It got longer and longer, but … he didn’t remember if he’d done it at all this year. 

He stopped, and Clive left, waving goodbye … well, not goodbye. 

Just- until next time- right? 

He sighed, now it was his turn to sit on the floor and think about life.


	41. Luke's sandwhiches

Luke walked down the row of books. Books upon books, spiraling shelves of sheets of paper. Of leather and string, books everywhere, yet he couldn’t find a single one about reproductive systems or pregnancy. Yes, he wanted to read about it, He knew he could just look it up, but he was afraid that someone would see his search, and using incognito browsers felt dirty. 

Especially after seeing what Clive used them for. 

He stopped, standing in between a bunch of books about biology, and plantlife. They were mixed in with books about global warming, and the ecosystem, and nervous system of humans and other mammals. He wasn’t paying attention to that though, he could hear something- a- 

Chlick- chlick- chlick- 

It was familiar, the sound that Clive’s lighter made when he lit the flame, but- was he here. Luke followed the noise, and looked through the shelves, seeing someone on the other side. The guy was pretty tall, was there- fire over there? Luke squinted, and moved some of the books out of the way, seeing … a guy with red hair, lighting a cigarette. He closed his lighter, and looked down, like he was thinking about something. He closed his eyes …

It was Alfendi- but what was he doing?

A girl suddenly came running up next to him. He sighed, and she held out a book, opening it up to a bookmarked page. 

“What?” He looked at it, and she flinched at the sound of his voice, before hesitantly explaining something to him. She was pointing to the pages, but he wasn’t looking at them, he was just looking at her. She stopped, and took a step back. 

And then it happened, a hand, her face, and the loudest slap Luke had ever heard. 

Luke pulled away from the shelf, hearing her run away from him … the boy’s heart was racing, he’d never been more terrified. He didn’t wanna be in here anymore, so- He made his way out, but on his way he saw the girl leaving, and for some reason, he started to follow her instead. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Luke listened to the sound of sobbing, peeking past the bathroom doorway to see a girl, crying into the bathroom sink. She had a bruise on her face, and a foundation brush in her hand, but she couldn’t do her makeup until she stopped crying. 

Short cut brown hair and a red headband was what she wore, but her eyes were the weird thing … they were red. Her irises were red, Luke hesitantly moved closer to her, and she gasped, quickly turning away, wiping her face, fixing her makeup and shoving her things into the bag that hung near her waist. She started to quickly walk past him, but he took her hand, “w-wait!” He said, “I- um-” 

She was just looking at him, but she looked mad, glaring at him, forcibly pulling her arm from his grasp. 

“...” Luke watched her as she walked off … and he followed behind her. 

“I- I’m Luke- what’s your name?” 

“...” She continued to walk, lowering her head, getting a little faster as Luke continued to follow her. He sighed, and decided to just spill it, “I saw what happened in the library- I just- are you okay?” 

She finally stopped, and turned towards him, blushing before she turned away, and hid her face. Luke wondered … could she talk? She didn’t say a word when she was with him, and even now, it was strange for her to have not said anything yet. 

“I know you don’t know me- but- I was just- I was worried- I’m sorry-” Luke stepped closer, and she tensed, moving away. She shook her head, and He stopped, “what’s wrong?” 

She just kept shaking her head, “I- can’t-” 

“.. can’t what?” 

“He hates- when I talk to other boys- you’re- gonna get me in trouble-” She said, starting to tear up. Her voice was so coarse, and she coughed after she spoke, which only made her wanna cry even more. Luke … huffed, No way, No way could he let her go back to him, “please don’t listen to him! I- I wanna help you! That guy you were with- his name is Alfendi right?” 

She … nodded, and looked around, as if he was listening constantly. “Y-you’ll … get me in trouble-” She backed up, and Luke shook his head, “He won’t ever hit you again- I promise- but I can only make sure if you come with me-” He said, and she looked down at him. She made an unsure noise, still looking around, whimpering under her breath as she stood up straight. “I can’t- .. I can’t-” she shook her head, sniffling. “I can’t- no-” She started to walk off …

“Please don’t go-” Luke said, and she stopped again … she looked down, and then looked around again. “This- is a test?” 

“... what?” 

“He’s trying to see- if i’ll run away again- right?” 

“...” Luke gave her the most saddened look, and wondered what she’d been through. He thought about how he was supposed to get her to come, she was so scared … 

“Come with me right now!” He yelled, and she jumped, shuffling over to him. 

… he felt bad about it, but he couldn’t do anything now. He just didn’t wanna see anything else bad happen to her. He took her hand, “it’s not a test- i’m- um- I’m kidnapping you! So come with me- please-” He said, walking off with her. She didn’t say anything, just continued to look around as He dragged her along. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


“See?” Luke said, Showing her the park at school. He was trying to get her to eat, her stomach wouldn’t stop growling, and he figured if he bought her lunch then maybe she’d trust him a little more. “It’s nice outside- and- I brought lunch- but I ate too many snacks during break so i’m not hungry- you can have it!” He said, handing her the bento he’d tried to make. 

Luke had cut his sandwiches up to look like little cats, complete with ketchup eyes and faces. The one on top looked perfect, while the one underneath was a little squished. 

“...” She just looked at it, before hesitantly grabbing it, hands shaking as she reached for the one on top. She picked it up, and Luke started to talk, “So- Alfendi- he’s your boyfriend?” 

The girl nodded, and Luke gave her a sorry look. “It must be hard- he’s not all that nice- and he’s got that stupid- fat nose-” 

She smiled, and Luke felt a little joy knowing she was happy making fun of him. “And you’re really pretty- you could probably get a way cooler guy! One that has really good grades- and doesn’t smoke- and cleans up after himself-!” 

“That would be nice …” she said, “do you really think i’m pretty?”

“Yeah! Once you’re all healed up- you’ll be even prettier- and then you’ll have all the guys wanting to date you probably-” 

She giggled, and Luke just looked down at the dirt, swinging his legs, happy she was finally getting more comfortable. “He hurt my boyfriend … Alfendi did- a long time ago- and ever since then- i’ve always wanted to know what he was like ..” Luke said, “How scary is the person who scares the guy that isn’t afraid of anything? And … you gave me a really good answer today-” Luke said. 

“... he is … he’s so scary sometimes- I don’t like to go home- but- he always tells me- i’m only scared because I like him-” She said, taking a bite out of the sandwich. “I hate what he does … but- if i’m scared when he does it- does that mean I like it?”

“... he’s lying to you-” Luke said, 

"How?"

“ does the sandwich taste good?” He asked, and she nodded. 

“Do you like it?”

She nodded. 

“Are you scared of it?”

“... n-no-” She said, looking down at the bread in her hands. Luke nodded, “it’s not the same- being scared of someone and liking them-” 

“But- when you’re scared- your heart races- and you get nervous- and you don’t know what to say- it’s the same… when you like someone- you freeze up- and you’re .. scared- so they’re the same-” She said, and Luke shook his head. “It’s not the same! It’s like- have you ever been on a roller coaster?” He asked, and she nodded. 

“You were scared right? But it was good fear! It was- um- exciting- but- when you’re alone at night and you see shadows- or when your parents yell at you- and you get that bad feeling in your stomach- that’s bad fear- and it’s not fun-” He said. 

“... whenever … whenever I say that … he tells me i’m not making sense-” 

“But- it makes sense to me-” Luke said, and She sniffled, “you understand?” 

“I think so-” Luke put a hand on her arm, “if he makes you feel bad- and scared- and you don’t wanna go home- then it’s not because you like it- it’s because he’s hurting you- and your body is trying to tell you that you need to get away-” 

“...” She nodded, “you’re too young to talk like that-” she said, and Luke looked down … He didn’t remember thinking this way when school first started, but now that it had, he just- found himself thinking about a lot of things he never had to think about. “I learned a lot this year-” He said, and she frowned, “me too …” 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


...

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


It was quiet, Luke had brought her near their dorm. His plan was to tell Clive, who would probably get mad and do something about this. It wasn’t a flawless plan, but- it was good enough. 

“...” She was looking around, she was so pale, Luke wondered if she went outside much, it sure didn’t seem like it. She flinched as a butterfly came her way, and he smiled, “it’s okay- Clive is scared of butterflies too- but they aren’t scary-” He said, “and they won’t hurt you-” 

“...” She held onto Luke’s hand, “who?” she asked, and Luke continued to guide her. “Clive- he’s my boyfriend-” 

“A-another boy? He’s gonna be mad at me!” 

“He won’t put a hand on you!” Luke said, “I won’t let him!”

“B-but- Clive- won’t be mad? You’re bringing strangers home-”

“... well- he used to get mad- but-”

“I- I don’t want you to get hurt-” She pulled away, and Luke took her hand again. “He doesn’t hurt me- ever!” Luke said, and she just stared at him, confused, and reluctant, but cooperative. “You shouldn’t … let anyone do something like that to you- you have to say something-” 

“But it just makes it worse-” she said, “if i just- don’t make any mistakes it wouldn’t happen- like now- i’m following you and I don’t even know why- i know i’m not supposed to- but I do it anyway- i’m just- stupid-”

“Because you want help- that’s why you’re following me- you wanna get away-” Luke said. And she … nodded. She does, she wants to get away, but go where? “He’s all I have ..” she said, and Luke smiled, “well- now you have me! And so you can choose to follow me instead! And I won’t be mean to you-” He said. 

She was quiet, completely quiet. 

Luke happily held onto her hand, she was just staring down at him, seemingly … sorry about something. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


"Um- it's okay to come in," Luke said, Standing in the doorway of his dorm. It was late, and she kept saying she needed to get back, but obviously they couldn't let her do that. 

She seemed too afraid to step past the doorway, Luke turned, and looked behind him, seeing that the two were staring at each other. Clive looked at her, and she looked at him …

And then he made a face, he gave her that threatening look he always gave people he didn't like, and she flinched, starting to turn away. 

"Stop that!" Luke said, and Clive smiled innocently, "huh?"

"Don't- HUH me-!"

"Alright- i was just joking~"

"It's not funny- she needs your help-!" Luke pulled her inside, and she tensed up, staying near the door as it closed. Luke tried getting her to come sit at the table, but Clive was there doing his homework, so she stood still, refusing to get close. 

Luke sighed, and looked at Clive, and then at her …

"Help with what? Does she wanna-”

“I’m gonna stop you before you say anything weird- um- Lucy?” He looked at her, and she turned towards him. 

“Do you wanna say it yourself?” 

“...” She took in a breath, before saying something too quiet to be heard. She spoke for a second, those few little squeaks getting lower and lower, until she was just quiet again, staring down at the floor, feeling a little useless for not being able to say it. He blinked … and looked at Luke, giving him the “ _ what _ ” face. 

“Well- um- you know how- uh-” 

She reached up, and Luke stopped, watching her start wiping off her makeup with her jacket’s sleeve. It wiped off pretty easily, it was barely there anyways, she never got a chance to really apply it since Luke interrupted her. 

The feeling of rough fabric on her face made it hurt even more, but, now it was visible. All the marks on her face, choke bruises on her neck, bites, too much to be considered something she just did for fun. 

“... um-” Clive said, and Luke pointed, “Alfendi did that to her-” He said. 

“... wh- I- what am I supposed to do about it?” 

“What do you mean what are you supposed to do! Help! Make him stop!” 

Clive sighed … 

It was quiet, Lucy started to feel bad. She just- felt like she was causing problems, hopefully he wasn’t mad. 

“Make him stop how?” Clive mumbled after a while. “It’s not like i can control what he does- she’s just gotta stay away from him- that’s the only way it’ll stop-  _ i guess _ \- or- we could tell the counselor- but- he’ll probably get mad and it’ll get worse …”

“I- I can’t-” She said, “If I don’t come back he’ll get mad- I can’t go back- it’s too late- p-please-” she said, and he couldn’t help but feel bad. Clive looked down at the pages of homework he’d been pretending to do for the past thirty minutes. Her being here just … made him remember. Especially the strikes to the face, the slapping, being held down. It was all just surfacing. 

And he thought he was over it. 

“I- I don’t think I’m a person who can help- but- if she needs somewhere else to stay then you should just leave her at Dahlia’s doorstep-” He said, getting an immediate, “we can’t just leave her! Don’t you feel even a little bad? And what if he finds her later?” 

“Well- what do you want me to do?” 

“...” Luke hummed, “what if she just stays with us?” 

“No …” Clive said, and Luke nodded, completely understanding why. “You’re the one with all the friends- you find her a place to stay-” 

“Buuut-” 

“And she can just stick with us- there- happy? Maybe if we’re Lucky we can push her off on someone else and they’ll feel bad and take care of her-” 

“U-um-” Lucy said, “i- i could- f-find somewhere to sleep- i- i just- c-can I come here- in the morning?” 

“Of course!” Luke said, and Clive mentally sighed at the idea of having to wake up early to let someone in, but he wasn’t gonna say no. He did sort of wanna talk to her, after all … they were a little bit of the same. Plus it was just for a few more months- right? 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Lucy hesitantly backed into the corner of the library, terrified to death of the person standing in front of her. A girl, with a blank stare, and a strange book in her hands. She was pretty, long blonde hair and void blue eyes, she had a gem in the center of her forehead, and … she was just standing there. 

“...”

Lucy sank to the floor, trembling, thinking that the girl might be about to hit her with the book for sneaking into the library at a time like this. She looked down, “i’m- s-sorry- I-” She shook her head, “I wanted- a place t-to sleep-” She tried to explain herself. 

“... um-” Aurora said, “it’s- okay … why are you- um- do you not have a room to go to?” She asked, and Lucy shook her head. Aurora tried her best to smile, taking a hesitant step forward, “well- I don’t have a roommate, do you want to spend the night in my dorm? Or- I have a friend who might be able to help you-” 

“..” Lucy stared up at her, looking for signs of trickery. She searched for deception, ill intent, anything to give her a reason to run away, but Aurora held her hand out, simply just wanting her to get off this dirty carpet. “why are you crying?” She asked, and the girl sniffled. 

She wiped her eyes, and looked down, shaking her head in response. She took the other girl’s hand, and stood. The light in the library was dim, the only real light being the study lamps on the desks, meant to help conserve energy for the school. 

“I’m sorry-” Lucy said, being led out of the room. 

“Oh- it’s fine- I’m used to people coming in here- but- just once I’d like to help ou-” 

“Aurora!” A voice came, a pair of hard shoes hitting the floor in anger as another girl approached. Aurora looked up, and stared, seeing Celeste come up to her. “Are you done yet?” 

“Yes- I-” 

“And why are you with her? Don’t you know Alfendi’s been looking all over for you?!” Celeste crossed her arms, “If I have to get yelled at then you have to get yelled at too.” 

“.. you know her?” Aurora asked, and Lucy backed away, “i- I don’t- I don’t wanna-” 

“Don’t start this shit again- I’m taking you home-” 

“P-please-”

“Shut up! Aurora, you’ve never met her- but this is his- street dog- she sells his product for him- and she’s a fucking idiot-” Celeste said. Aurora held onto the girl’s hand, “Celeste … please don’t be mean to her- can’t you see she’s scared? What if he’s been-”

“Who cares? You don’t know what it’s like-! Just - don’t make this any harder than it needs to be”

“What- what’s like?” 

“Everything! Celeste walked forward, grabbing Lucy by the arm. The crying girl began to pull away, but it didn’t work. She pushed and pried at the arm, “please don’t! I don’t want to! Don’t! Let go!” 

“..” Aurora quietly followed behind, of course, she wanted to do something, she wanted to help, but what could she do? She can’t fight Celeste, and she had her own version of punishment to worry about if she tried to go against her. 

She only wished she knew more about what was going on here, she’d never even seen this girl before, and now she had the urge to protect her- none of this made any sense …

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


"So this is where he lives?" Alfendi asked, and Lucy nodded. She didn't want to, but- he said he wouldn't be mad if she showed him. She knew it was bad, and she didn't want anything to happen to Luke, but the alternative … 

He put his hand on her head, staring at the door all the way at the end of the hallway. "When we get there- I want you to apologise for causing so much trouble. And clear up any misconceptions."

"O-okay .."

"And Lucy. .."

She tensed, feeling a hand come around her waist. "I love you. I'll try and go easy … I'm sorry." He kissed her cheek, and she suddenly felt sick, and conflicted. She wondered how he expected her to apologise, apologise for what? She thought about what Luke told her, about good and bad fear. This was bad fear, terrible fear, the worst. 

“You can’t run away every time I do something you don’t like- you should just tell me-” He said, and she looked down at the floor, was this another trick? More bait. 

“I’m s-”

“Don’t apologize- I forgive you-”

“Y-you do?” 

He nodded, and stopped, “Don’t tell Celeste I said this- but- you’ve always been my favorite-”

“I have?” 

“Yeah …” Gentle. He was so- gentle suddenly, rubbing her arm. She couldn’t help it, she smiled, it made her feel a little better knowing that of all the girls, she was at the top … but somewhere inside she knew, So her smile was short-lived. 

“But- I don’t understand- why are we h-“

“Quiet.” 

“Ah .. okay-” She said, knocking on the door as she got close. There was a long pause, the two of them waited in silence as loud footsteps could be heard. Alfendi moved off to the side, so he wouldn’t be seen when the door opened, since it opened outward. He’d been watching for a while, and he knew Clive never pushed the door out all the way, and Luke wasn’t there. 

It was the perfect time. 

The door opened, and Lucy looked up. 

She froze … but Clive spoke for her, “we’ve been looking for you! What happened? I thought you were gonna meet us in the library-” 

“Um-” She looked down at the floor … for some reason, despite being told what to say, word for word, she was completely blank. She was remembering the sandwich Luke gave her, how happy he seemed when she ate it. She was remembering, eating his lunch, talking to him, she was remembering what she thought at that moment .. or, a lack of thought. 

Which wasn’t abnormal, she was used to that, moving robotically wherever told, doing everything everyone said. It was her life, and she usually didn’t get to eat anything when she wanted to, only when they remembered to throw food at her, or when they got annoyed by the sound of her stomach growling. 

Or when he noticed that she was cold in bed, he’d feed her something to make her body warm up, but that was it …

“Um-” Clive said, and she tensed, locking up even further. She looked up at him, and then down to the floor. Say it, say it, why couldn’t she say it? 

“I’m-” 

She stuttered, her hands began to shake, what was this feeling? The racing in her heart, the coldness in her feet, what was it? Why? 

_ It’s your body trying to tell you that you want to get away … _

“..  _ help- m-me- _ ” She whispered, and Clive heard it, looking past her, and out into the empty hallway. She motioned to the door, and Clive looked between the cracks, seeing an eye staring back at him. He gasped, freaked out, he grabbed the doorknob and shoved it, slamming the door into the wall as Lucy came into his room. 

There was a groan, and Clive grit his teeth, “Fuck off! Die! Die!” He kept slamming the door into him, before it came flying back at him, hitting him in the face. 

“What’s- wrong with you-” Clive hissed, holding his now bleeding nose as Alfendi stepped out, seemingly unscathed. 

“She asked me to bring her here, I didn’t wanna just leave her! You didn’t have to start trying to kill me- Lucy- let’s go-” 

She shook her head, and Clive looked at him, grabbing the doorknob as he held his nose with his other hand. Mad- he was- extremely mad, “Liar! You were trying to figure out where I lived weren’t you? You used her- Where is Luke?” 

“I have no idea- honestly-” Alfendi said in a sort of bored tone. “And Lucy- i’m not asking you- i’m telling you- let’s. Go.” 

“She doesn’t want to- leave her- alone-” Clive said, not really wanting to play hero today. 

“Clive- you know as well as I do that if I leave her here i’ll get expelled- now bring her out-” 

“Shut up! Stop- trying to make it make sense- I know what you’ve been doing!” 

“And what is that exactly?” 

“Don’t play dumb! Look at her face!” 

“You don’t know what that could be from-”

“Oh- you’re gonna tell me she ran into a door? Fell down the stairs?! That’s exactly what a guy who beats his girlfriend would say!” 

“She isn’t my girlfriend.” Alfendi said, and Lucy looked at him, such a betrayed look on her face, eyes wide with shock. Usually he … tried, to make it reasonable, but this time he was just- 

She backed further into the room, getting down behind Luke’s table, hiding away from him, from the world as the two continued to argue. 

Alfendi sighed, “okay- i’m getting tired of this-” He said, attempting to move past Clive, but obviously he was stopped, getting shoved back into the hallway. 

He seemed to get angry, eyes locking onto Clive, who’d let go of his nose, prepared to use both hands. Alfendi got his balance back immediately, both hands shooting out as he gripped Clive by his shirt, pulling him forward, slamming his forehead against the other’s. 

Something simple, yet effective, and Clive was out of commission just like that, falling to the floor with a knot starting to form on his head. Everything was black, he couldn’t see as Alfendi walked right past him, He groaned, and looked up, opening his eyes to see the hazy image of Alfendi dragging Lucy out by her arm. He started to move, getting up off of the floor, sort of happy for this situation. 

He wiped his nose, and walked out of his room, grabbing Lucy’s other arm, pulling her from his grasp. He turned, being met with a well-deserved fist to the center of his forehead. 

And yet, it barely affected him. Clive was shocked, usually that got most people, but not Alfendi. He just responded by lifting his arm, blocking it, quickly returning one, which was dodged swiftly. 

Lucy retreated, she couldn’t say she didn’t want them to fight, no, that’s not what was wrong here. She did want them to fight, but she didn’t want Alfendi to win. She needed him to lose, but by the way it was going. 

Clive hit the wall with a violent slam, being picked up, and held against it, a position he was pretty familiar with by now. The new part were the hands around his neck, choking, or, trying to choke him, but he was okay. He was holding his own breath for the most part, but he was panicked, so it wasn’t doing much good. 

He tried to think of something to do, scratching at the hand wasn’t working, so he kicked Alfendi in the stomach, his knee coming up hard, sending the redhead stumbling back a few feet as he held onto his stomach. 

Alfendi tried to tough it out, and keep going, but Clive just grabbed his head, and shoved it down, slamming his face into his other knee. There was a loud crack, and a pained groan. 

Lucy had a strange smile on her face as the fighting continued. Hit after hit after hit, Clive beat the absolute shit out of him, not stopping until he was on the ground, punching him repeatedly until … he gave up. 

Clive breathed … sitting down on his stomach, a fist raised in the air. His blood dripped down onto Alfendi’s face, but it was over. He’d knocked him out … or killed him, he might have killed him- did he kill him? He reached down, able to still feel the guy’s heart beating, though it was starting to slow down …

Should he kill him? 

He flinched when he saw a foot connect with Alfendi’s face, and looked up to see Lucy, with a very … questionable look on her face. She got down, sitting next to him, shaking him. Clive got up, wondering if she was trying to wake him up or something. 

“... nh-” Alfendi opened his eyes, and she looked at him. He turned his head, and she gave him a look … and he reached up. 

She slapped his hand, and then slapped him, hand shaking as she quickly pulled away, running back into Clive’s room. 

“... ha-” Clive said, and Alfendi sat up, mumbling something as he stood. He looked like he was going to fall, but instead, he just walked off, repeatedly saying something under his breath … Clive trailed after him a little, Luke still wasn’t back, but- 

He’d be damned if Alfendi got his hands on anyone else. 


	42. Cheese

Desmond just wanted to eat in peace. He wasn’t usually around anyone during the lunch period, mostly because he was with Emmy now, but, today he felt like being alone. 

Mostly because things were getting boring, and usually that meant it was a good time to be away while nobody was in dying need of help. So he went to the spot behind the sandwich shop, sitting next to the dumpster as he ate. Strangely, the trash didn’t smell bad, so this spot was the best place to go if you just wanted to be alone. And not a lot of people knew about it either.

Or so he thought.

“ _ A- chu! _ ” 

He looked up … he’d been sitting on the ground, looking at his cracked phone screen, wondering if it was possible to cut something with the glass when he heard a sneeze. It sounded like it came from the dumpster ..

There was a sniffle, and a quiet, frustrated whine before someone shuffled out from behind the dumpster. He stared at her … and she looked up … before shuffling back behind it, peeking out. She looked tired, like she’d .. slept there or something. He had no idea what to say, what if this was a hallucination?

_ am I schizophrenic-  _ “ … Hii! I’m Dez!” He happily waved, “You look like you got hit by a train- what happened?” he asked, hoping that didn't come off as too rude.

“...” She moved even further behind the dumpster, and he tilted his head a little. This spot was only known to him and one other person, nobody ever came this way because there’s no reason to- so that must mean ..

“Do you- know a guy named Clive?” 

“..” She nodded, and came out a little. She seemed so afraid, he felt bad, he didn’t wanna scare her, but he didn’t know what to do. 

“Did- something- happen?” 

The girl nodded, and then sneezed, wiping her face with her dirty sleeve. All it did was smear dirt or something on her nose, which made her sneeze even more. He sighed, “so- he did this?” he asked, and she shook her head. “I- are you- his friend?” She asked. He could just barely make out what she was saying, her voice was so low, but after a second of awkwardly staring ..

“Oh- yeah-! We’re really close-!” 

“Is he okay?” She asked, and Desmond nodded. “He’s with Luke- they’re on a date or something- i think?”

“Oh- ..” She sniffled, and looked down at the ground. 

“.. um- if you’re looking for him I can call him-” 

“N-no- it’s okay- i- i asked him to bring me an umbrella .. I think he forgot-” She said, and Desmond hummed. “You must be Lucy then? I was wondering what he needed an umbrella for- He told me to get him one- hold on- it’s here-” He moved, taking the umbrella from his bag. He opened it, “it’s a clear one- but it’s huge- is this one okay?” He asked, and she nodded. Shuffling out from behind the dumpster. He let it go, and she inched forward, taking it, setting it in between the dumpster and the fence. 

“Thank you- when it rains my stuff gets all wet-” she sniffled, “and i get cold- and it’s hard to dry off ..” 

“...  _ wait what?  _ Do you- you’re not living there are you?” 

“I- I have- a room- but- I-” She started to shake, sitting under the umbrella. He looked down at the ground, suddenly feeling extremely lucky to not be in her position. He wondered if there was anything he could do. He didn’t know anyone who she could stay with, and someone’s clearly been hitting her. She’s sick, she’s thin, and probably needs a shower … but people like that aren’t too trusting either, so he couldn’t just start offering for her to take showers at his place .. but he could get her a sandwich, right? 

“So- did you get kicked out?” He asked, and she looked down, giving the cold ground a dead, meaningless stare. He figured that must mean it’s complicated, and thought about whether or not to press for more answers. He should have probably just- left her alone … but he’d feel bad if he left her out here, and she went to sleep and something happened to her, when he could have done something. 

But being helpful is so much work ..

“I-” She said, “I ran- away- I just- can’t go back- but I don’t have anywhere to go ..” She said, “but Clive told me that nobody ever comes back here- e-except him- and you- so n-nobody will find me- or bother me-” She said, “so i’m here-a-CHU-!” She sniffled, and wiped her nose. 

“Oh ..” He said, “You mean- you ran from your roommate or something?” 

She nodded, “my- brother-” She started to talk, but it seemed like even the memory was hard to experience without some sort of physical pain as a result, she cowered behind the dumpster, and he absolutely wasn’t leaving now. “I can’t go back- and I can’t go home- because he’ll be there- b-both of them-” 

“... are they the ones that did that to your face?” He asked, and she nodded. “Help- please-” 

“Uh- … okay!” He happily said, getting up, dusting the dirt off of his uniform. “Sounds to me like you need a new roommate- I have a couple of friends- but first- we gotta go get your stuff!” 

“... b-but-”

“Don’t worry about it- I can get in and out of anywhere!” He said, and she shook her head, “i- i don’t have anything-” 

“Whaat? Not even a phone? Wait so you wear those clothes all the time or something?” 

“I- I-”

“Ha- gross-”

“No it’s not like that!” 

“Sure- so then you have clothes at least?” 

“I- I do but-”

“Great let's go pack your stuff!” 

“I- … oh ugh-” She sighed, “If- if i go back they’ll see me-” She said, and he nodded, “i’ll get it for you- and while i’m gone- I have a friend who can 

“... okay-” She said, and he smiled, “so- where do you live?”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Dez didn’t know how to feel coming back here. Having already unlocked the door, he pushed it open, to see that the room was completely the same …

He knew the guy wasn’t home, after the first incident he’d been watching him, sort of. Just to make sure he never had another chance to get anyone alone. To make sure there were no more coincidences.

He honestly just wanted an excuse to break in here so that he could get his original pair of glasses back … but much to his disturbance, when he took a step past the frame of the door, he saw them still laying there exactly where he left them. In fact, nothing about the room had changed at all, except for maybe the sheets on the bed. The blood stain was gone ... He looked around, and walked over to his red frames, picking them up. They were .. just fine too. He put the ones he had on in his pocket, and put the originals back on his face. 

… he thought the reunitement would be a happy one, but honestly … he didn’t know how to feel. Well, now he could see, time to do what he said he would.

The drawers, he pulled them open … and stared at what looked like an amalgamation of women's underwear .. and … a pair of boxers. A single, black pair. 

He felt his stomach turn, and he shut the drawer, looking away from it. The room was dark, dank, and disturbing, it was like he could feel someone breathing down his neck- just- uncomfortable. He went to another drawer, seeing neatly folded uniform shirts and skirts. He figured they were Lucy’s, so he pulled his bag from his back and began to shovel them inside. It didn’t take long, and he really wanted to get the hell out, so after he took what he could, managing to find her wallet and her school ID, he took his bag and walked towards the door …

Until, of course, he thought about it. She’s gonna need her shoes- right? He should probably grab those too. 

He took a few steps towards the closet, and reached out for the doorknob, stopping for a second to consider what might be in there. For some reason, he had a feeling he really .. really shouldn’t look … but he couldn’t help it. With one swift tug, he pulled the door open, and ...

It took him a second to realize what he was looking at, for a while he just stood there with the closet doors thrown open, his hands planted on both of them. Maybe it didn’t set in when she was telling him the address. But he knew this was Alfendi’s room, and that she was his sister. Still …

He looked down. In the closet, there were pictures, two boys and one girl. The girl was obviously Lucy, and the guy with red hair was Alfendi, but there was another one- a third, just like she said.

He looked back up, and everything started to make sense. In all of these pictures, both of the brothers look exactly the same. The only difference being hair color, but that difference seemed to go away once they reached a certain height …

So they looked exactly the same …

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Lucy watched the other girl as she paced around. She seemed upset, having thrown her bag at the wall, and hissed a bunch of … not so great words at the sky.

Lucy hadn’t ever been more afraid of anyone, there was just something about her that told her “don’t say anything.” “don’t move” “don’t be seen.” 

Of course … Emmy didn’t see her. It was late, and she’d been waiting for a while. Lucy had only just woken up to the sound of footsteps, and when she looked out, the other was standing there with a look of death in her eyes. 

She stopped suddenly … and took off, screaming at someone who walked by. 

“What took you so looooooongggggg!!!???” She yelled, accompanied by the sound of an audible crack. 

“I’m sorry!” 

“Sorry doesn’t cut it! It’s dark out here and I had no idea it was you! You could have said something!!” Emmy said, watching him as he walked back over to the dumpster. 

“Aw .. I wanted to sneak up on you though-”

“ _ Die- _ ”

He smiled, “Lucy- are you here?” He asked, moving the dumpster. Emmy looked over … and took a step back, a genuine look of fear on her face. 

“What the hell is that?!” 

“ My new pet!” He dropped his bag, “ I found her in the dumpster-” 

“Really?”

“No- this is Alfendi’s little sister- she’s hiding from him right now so I went to go get her stuff so she wouldn’t run into him-” He mentally sighed, wishing he could just tell her the entire situation, but it’d probably just end up roping one more person into what was already a gross situation.

“Oh … you mean that guy with the ponytail?” 

“... um- yeah- the guy with the ponytail …” He said, starting to realize that … it wasn’t even him that day in the closet. Unless, did his hair grow back? Probably- right? Probably not …

“wait- you’re just gonna leave her by the dumpsters?” Emmy asked, “that’s gross!” 

“Wellllll any better ideas? I don't know anyone who can take her in~ and I don't trust the people who might try ..” 

“Hm … I guess she can stay in my guest room-” 

“Um-” Lucy said, “i- i’m okay-” 

“No you’re not-! You smell like cheese-” Emmy immediately said. 

“I wouldn’t- want to trouble you-” Lucy started to move, attempting to run away before Emmy could drag her, but it was too late. 

"It's not any trouble! Now let's go- it's cold!" She said.

“Don’t forget this- oh and don’t worry about giving it back I don’t need it-” Dez said, happily dumping her and all of her things off onto Emmy. 

“W-wait- you’re leaving me with her?” 

“Yup! Happy travellls!” He waved, leaving before Lucy could object to it. It would be the best thing for her, he thought so at least. Emmy’s house is nice and far away from the school, they’d both gain a friend and at least a  _ little  _ more good would be back in the school …

But this was all he was doing, it was a coincidence he found her, and if anyone asked why she’s not around, that’s also a coincidence. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Clive stared down at the floor as he paced the room, listening to the sound of his phone ringing … Luke was right there next to him, sitting at their table, ready to be as supportive as he could be for this moment. 

It’d been almost two weeks since he sent his last letter, and they were just hearing back from him now. Clive stopped, and Luke looked up at him. After being given a number, Clive called almost immediately, without even thinking about it but …

“He- …” Clive sighed, “didn’t answer- maybe I dialed it wrong?” He said, looking over at Luke, who shrugged … “well- maybe it’s really late in the night for him? What time is it there?” 

“.. i don’t know-” Clive sat down, tapping at something on his phone. Luke guessed he was looking it up, "... It's 2:30 AM- so He's probably asleep." 

"Yeah- we can call him tomorrow on our way home!" Luke said, and Clive jumped a little ..

"Wait- we're leaving- tomorrow?"

"... I told you a week ago-" Luke said, and the other looked away, "I- i forgot-" 

"Well- is it a problem?"

"No! No- i just- uh- w-what are we leaving for again?" 

Luke sighed, "Once you take your finals- we're going home for spring break .."

"Oh! Right! Ha- i just-"

"Clive- it's okay to be scared-" 

"...  _ He's going to kill me- _ " 

"He won't!"

"He will!" Clive said, "He's gonna cut my dick off or something!"

Luke just shook his head, "they'll be happy- trust me- nothing bad will happen- not while I'm around- okay?" He asked, giving Clive a sincere look … it didn’t help, but Luke was clearly freaking out too, just assuming the best of his parents ..

He looked at Luke, and tried to believe him, but no matter what he did, the image of Clark stabbing him just wouldn't leave his mind. 

"I guess I should jus-" Clive started to talk, before his phone rang. He stopped, and looked down at it, seeing that it was from an unknown number …

“Are you gonna answer?” Luke asked, and Clive shrugged, picking up his phone. 

“.. i guess …. Hello?” 

He sat there for a second, hearing nothing but the sound of shuffling on the other side, before a tired woman answered the phone, speaking in german. 

_ You fucking slut! He’s taken! If you call here again i’ll- _

Clive was quiet … and so was Luke, unable to understand any of what he was hearing. He looked down at the table, and Clive just listened, wondering if maybe …

“Um- I- I’m- a guy- d-did you by any chance- get a letter in the mail?” 

“...” The woman was quiet, before she gasped. 

“OH! Is this Clive?” She said, in perfect english. He sighed with relief, before nodding, and then realizing she couldn’t see him. “Yeah- it is-”

“Where are you??” 

“I- at- school?” 

“Where?”

“Uh-”

“You can tell me! I’m your sister!” 

“...” Clive stared off into space for a second, “I have a sister?” 

“Just tell me where you are!” 

“... wait- I- okay- fine-” He pulled his phone away from his ear, and started typing. This … wasn’t dangerous at all, right? He could trust this right? This wasn’t a trick- right? 

“Ohh … okay- I’m on the way-!” She said, and Luke looked up, giving Clive a shocked look. 

“Ah- no no no we’re leaving tomorrow! For spring break! It’ll have to be some other t-” 

“Where are you going? I’ll come there instead!” 

“Uh-” Clive looked at Luke, who smiled, “we’re going to a camping spot next to the beach! Are you sure you’ll be able to make it?” He asked, and the girl just scoffed. 

“ _ We will be there tomorrow- _ ” 

… and then she hung up. “... she seems nice-” Luke said, gasping as Clive’s face hit the table. 

“Are you o-”

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-” 

“...” Luke held his hand out, and gave him a pat on the back. “Uh - Are you- okay?” He asked, and Clive just wheezed. “I’m- TERRIFIED-” 

“It’s gonna be okay- one thing at a time- let’s get packed- okay?” 

“Okay … okay-” Clive sighed, and sat up … “I’m gonna go outside for a second-” He got up from the table, opening his top drawer, taking out a pack of cigarettes. He took one out, and his lighter, shutting the door, audibly mumbling something, whining to himself.

Luke looked down at Clive’s phone, wishing he could do more to help ease his nerves … but he had his own problems to deal with. He was pretty scared too, about being pregnant, but … he was also scared he might not be pregnant at all. It was a possibility, right? That there was no baby, but if that was the case then he would have worried Clive for nothing. 

He guessed it was probably a bad time to say that the recent tests he’d taken had been coming out negative … 

Hm …

Or- he could just make sure it happens! Yeah- He could do it again, after all, he was already pregnant so it wouldn’t matter- right? 

The door opened, and Luke jumped, nervously looking up as Clive closed it. “Um … so-” Clive looked like he’d just come to terms with something, staring down at the floor with a slightly embarrassed look on his face. “You said we were going to the beach?” 

“..” Luke nodded, and Clive cringed- “ah- okay-”

“What are you making that face for?”

“Nothing- i just … nothing- nothing-” He shook his head, and went back outside. Luke watched him as he shut the door … yeah. Maybe it’d calm him down too, he looked like he could use a little relief …

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Walking to class … as usual … just Luke, Clive, Desmond, Emmy, Flora, Dahlia, Anton, Sophia, and … Henry. 

Too many people, the poor boy was happy, today was the day they’d take their final exams, but it was also the day they’d be leaving again. It was also the time he intended on … going through with his plan, but no matter what he tried, he couldn’t get Clive alone. He wondered how hard it must have been the other way around, before they got together. 

… who was he kidding? It wasn’t the same at all …

Not only was it awkward because of that, but Clive also seemed to be much too in his own head to talk, so the two were just quietly trailing behind everyone. He sighed, and looked up at the other, seeing that he had his eyebrows slightly pressed together. 

“... um-” Luke reached over to his hand, pulling at it, getting him to look down, and change his expression to something more neutral. “How much time do we have before we take our tests?” The boy asked, and Clive shrugged, “i guess .. an hour? Or something like that …” 

“Oh …” Luke turned red, “so then- can we go to the bathroom beforehand?” 

“If you gotta pee you don’t need me to go with you every time-”

“I- I only ask sometimes! Plus- you said it yourself that it’s dangerous! Especially with that guy around!” Luke yelled at him, turning almost completely red. 

“Yeah- but- I found out yesterday that he’s been all over the place looking for Lucy- who he isn’t going to find- so he’s probably not worried about us-”

“J-just- come with me!” Luke said, pulling him away from everyone. He started to go in the opposite direction of the group, it’s not like they were really paying attention anyways. 

“Luke where are we-”

“To the bathroom!!” 

“But- why?” 

“Because I-” Luke stopped, and let go of his hand, realizing that this was just stupid … they were far enough away from everyone else now. He looked up, seeing that Clive was just waiting for him to say something. “I just- it’s been a while again- hasn’t it?” He asked, covering his face with his hands. “Since we- you know …”

“... Luke you can just say you wanna fuck or something-”

“Don’t say that out loud!” 

“It’s not like there’s anyone around~ and i’m here for you-”

“I- I didn't! I really do have to pee!" Luke said, and Clive sighed, "right- well- we're right here" he said, pushing open the bathroom door. Luke looked inside, and then looked down … quietly, carefully walking underneath Clive's arm into the bathroom. 

Luke walked over to one of the stalls, pushing it open, looking over at Clive, who had a dumb, smug look on his face. 

"What?" Clive asked, and Luke looked away …

"C-come with me .." 

"Nope! I'm not letting you ask like that- you have to say it or I'm not doing anything-"

"S-say what?" 

"Whatever it is you want me to do- you always make it seem like it's my Idea but you have to own up to it one day .."

"Ugh! Okay! I- can you- please just-" Luke covered his face, "please?" 

"... Good enough I guess-" Clive sighed. Maybe one day, but not today. He walked over to the stall, dropping his bag, picking Luke up as he closed the door. He sat down on the toilet after closing the lid, and leaned forward, kissing Luke's cheek. 

It felt weird doing this just hours before a test, he'd have to be careful not to get their uniforms dirty.

Luke tried to relax, but he understood that what they were doing usually took them well over three hours to get done on their own. Especially as of late, but now they probably only had about … forty minutes. 

"H-hurry-" Luke whimpered, tensing as Clive bit at his neck, sucking hard enough to leave a mark. He whimpered, able to feel something poking at him already. 

"Don't- rush-" Clive mumbled, "we have plenty of time-"

"No we dont-" 

"Fine .." he looked down, undoing his belt, taking his time as Luke continued to adjust his position, pretending like he was uncomfortable when he was really just grinding against his leg. It was cute, too cute. 

He managed to free his dick after a few seconds of very carefully making sure it didn't touch his zipper in any kind of way. It wasn't completely hard since they'd only just started, and Luke seemed to notice, starting to immediately try and stroke it to life. 

It really only took a second, Luke's hands were always so soft in the mornings since he'd just gotten done putting on lotion, on his legs, which were wrapped around one of Clive's as Luke shamelessly moved against him, Leaning down to Lick at his tip a few times. 

Clive closed his eyes, before feeling Luke pulling at his shirt, "D-do it- come on- that's good enough right?" Luke asked. 

Good enough … as if the thing wasn't pulsing out of it's skin. Clive just responded by lifting Luke a little, pushing his solid colored underwear to the side, and slowly pulling him back down, biting down on his lip as the tip pushed in.

It was a delicate process, too fast and it would hurt, too slow and he wouldn't be able to get it in all the way. 

"A-ah-haaa-" Luke covered his mouth. The whole thing, every time it got a little deeper, a little further, filling him up until he was sitting down on Clive's lap, panting, able to feel himself dripping fluid down onto the other's pants. 

"I- i'm getting- your clothes dirty-" Luke whined, and Clive just shrugged. "Nobody will see it-" he leaned forward, wrapping his arms around Luke, not really moving much, just hugging him. He stood up, and let Luke's back rest against the side of the stall as he started to move. 

It was already too much, Luke could feel his insides clenching up, tightening around Clive, making things just that much worse. He had his mouth wide open and his hands planted on Clive's shoulders, but eventually he ended up pulling at his tie with one hand as he let his other rest against the stall walls. 

"I- nn-" Luke arched, biting down on his lip as Clive started to try and shove it in deeper. 

"Does it- hurt?"

"N-no! Don't stop!" Luke begged him, and Clive nodded, starting to get faster. He reached down, feeling Luke's stomach, sliding his hand up his chest. 

"H-harder? Please-" Luke pulled, and Clive let that hand slide down between his legs, rubbing him as he lowered his body. 

He didn't wanna make too much noise, besides the sound of their skin slapping together. Luke could hear the sound of his own fluids dripping against the floor, and the more he heard it, the more embarrassed he felt. Maybe Clive was right, maybe he was the one that was horny ..

Still, this felt really good, and with Clive's hand playing around with him like that, he was a squirming little mess. 

"C-cli-v-e-ah-" His voice split up, coming out to the rhythm of Clive's movements, along with a shaky sigh, and a plea for him to go faster. 

"Luke- if I go any harder then you'll start screaming-"

"I won't! I promise! Please!"

Clive slowed down, and Luke wrapped his legs around his waist, "noooo! What are you doing??" 

"Relax- and just- shhhh" Clive mumbled, starting to steadily rock them both in a way that let him move almost entirely out of Luke. The boy groaned, and gasped when Clive slid all the way back inside, pushing up against his walls. 

"I- Clive- hhh" He was sweating, about to start drooling before he closed his mouth. 

"I know~ i know-" Clive rubbed his back, and Luke started tensing his legs around his waist, his usual sign that he was about to cum. 

He leaned forward, so Clive pulled him away from the wall, trying not to be too loud. Luke held onto him, having almost forgotten about what he wanted from this. He reached out, holding onto Clive, doing his best to not let go as he mumbled something. 

"Do it- inside-" He breathed, feeling the other shudder for a second, before stopping.

He opened his eyes, and gasped, being shoved against the stalls wall, and mercilessly used. He forgot, he shouldn't rile Clive up when he's close to the edge, if he wasn't already pregnant he would be now. "Mmh! C-wive-!" 

"Luke- shhh-!" Clive put a hand over his mouth to keep him from letting out anymore loud noises as he came. The boy was shaking, gripping his shirt, noticing in that moment just how much of a mess he was making. He could feel liquid dripping down his legs, onto his butt, his pants, underwear. 

He bit Clive's hand, starting to feel even more liquid seep inside of him as the other slouched forward, letting out a tired, mumbled noise. 

The two took a second to calm down, breathing heavily, all in eachother's faces before they shared a quick kiss …

A quick kiss that turned into a makeout session.

That turned into them going at it again.

That turned into them being hours late altogether.


	43. first class

Luke stared down at his pregnancy test … negative again …

Negative, negative- all of them! What was going on?? He stood still in the bathroom, dressed in a casual shirt and a pair of shorts. Clive had surprised him by offering to drive them there, at some point he'd gotten a car, something about feeling grossed out by old men on the bus and not wanting to take it anymore … but- since when could he drive?

Luke sighed, and since when did these tests stop working? He wondered if it was even possible for it to be negative, after all, he hadn't gotten his period this month, and it was almost the end. 

Whatever …

He would just have to try again-

He pushed open the bathroom door, seeing that Clive was up, digging through the fridge for something. At least he was dressed …  _ still wearing the school's uniform, does he even have any other clothes? _

Except- "Clive- where's your sweater?" Luke asked, and the other looked up, "huh?" 

"Your sweater- the yellow one-" 

"..." Clive felt his chest, and looked down, seeing that it was indeed not there …

"NOOOOO-" he screamed.

"C-Calm down! We'll find it-!" 

"..." Clive was quiet, he slumped down on the floor. "... We don't have time- we have to go-" he whimpered, and Luke shook his head. "We can find it first!"

"Luke … Alfendi has it …" 

"What? How?"

"He- ugh- has a habit of stealing my stuff- he must have somehow gotten in here and taken it-" 

"Clive you sound crazy-" Luke walked over to him, and put a hand down on his head. " You're probably just so used to wearing it that you forgot it- i promise it's most likely somewhere in here-" 

"It's nooot- we packed everything- remember?"

"Well .." Luke looked at their huge bag, "maybe we packed it?" He said, and Clive groaned, "it's gone forever-"

"Clivee don't say that! What's wrong with you? You're usually better at handling this kind of stuff-" 

"... I'm getting tired of things happening all the time- i just wanted to go on a vacation with you and for once have fun- i was up all night trying t- WAIT A MINUTE-" he got up, and bolted from the floor to the door. Luke watched him as he slammed it shut, and listened as he ran down the hallway, telling someone to "MOVE" on his way. 

Luke got up, and dusted his legs off, taking a look around the room to make sure he had everything together. He looked at Clive's bag, it was sitting on the floor right next to him, wide open …  _ overflowing with condoms. _

Did he- put them in the fridge? Luke looked at the bag,  _ why did he have so many? _ Was he expecting t- oh god ..

Wait- no this was perfect! This was his next opportunity! He hurried over to his kitchen drawer and pulled it open, taking out a needle that he used to stitch Clive’s sweater back up whenever he accidentally ripped it. 

Usually they pretended it never happened. 

He pulled out the condoms, watching as every connected square of plastic came out next to it, making a line of victims as he began to poke holes in them. 

He considered for a second just- telling Clive what was going on, but then … there was a chance Clive would start being all careful again, and he didn’t want that! He wanted to have a baby- even though he was scared at first, he didn’t do all of that emotional preparation for nothing!

The door opened, and he froze, seeing that Clive had returned with his sweater. “Let’s go! I almost forgot the plane leaves in-”

“...”

“...”

Clive looked at Luke, as he slowly shut the door. The boy just- stood there in complete silence as he stared Clive in the eyes, watching as he kept his hand on the doorknob as if considering leaving the room again.

“Are you poking holes in my condoms?”

“...  _ um … i-im sorry ..”  _ Luke mumbled, and Clive looked down, as if he was thinking about something. It took him a second, cycling through a couple of facial expressions before he sighed.

“Luke why are you poking holes in my condoms?”

“I- i was- i'm not!" 

" o … kaaaaay- are you ready to go?" Clive asked, and Luke nodded, tossing the latex back into Clive's bag, zipping it up for him. He picked it up, and Clive carried the rest of the stuff out, neither of them talking about what just happened or what it might mean. 

"... Hey- when did you get your license?" Luke asked, locking their room door tight. Clive shrugged, "I don't have a license. ."

"Wh- you dont?!"

"No but- i know how to drive- it'll be fine-" Clive assured him. Luke immediately refuted, "but- what if you get in a wreck?"

"I won't-"

"But what if someone crashes into you?!"

"That could just happen anyways-"

"But what if!!"

"Fiiiine!" Clive groaned, they were just standing outside now, and they didn't have a lot of time to get to where they were going. "do you want your parents to come pick us up or something?" 

"I- well … yeah! And then- we can tell them when we get in the car- you know?" 

"... Oh- right-" Clive mumbled, "how are we even- supposed to say it? I mean- I was shocked they were okay with it to begin with but  _ this is going to kill them _ -" 

"You're being overdramatic!" 

"I'm!" Clive … just pulled out his phone, and dialed their number, before handing it to Luke. He didn't say anything else about it, Luke guessed he was just going to let him take things from there. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


The two sat in complete silence as they watched their parents argue. Clive had his head in Luke's lap, wanting to sleep through the drive for the most part. 

But he couldn't- because-

"I just don't understand how a fully grown adult would think it's okay to hang out around a bunch of teenagers! And why?!"

"Old man .." Brenda huffed, crossing her arms as she turned away from him. "You're no fun anymore .." 

"It's not about that! I had no idea where you were!" 

"Were you even looking?" 

"Of course i was looking! Why on earth would you be at school?!" 

She sighed, "I don't need you to watch over me- I can take care of myself-" she huffed, and Clark went silent for a few seconds. 

Luke wondered if they were going to be okay, these arguments were getting more and more frequent … In fact, his own relationship felt like it was starting to crumble a little bit. 

Were they going to be okay? … he stroked Clive's head, and looked down at him, wondering what he was listening to in his earbuds. He pulled one out, and wiped it off, sticking it in his own ear …

_.. your flowers at least three feet apart to give the roots room to grow. They don't need water daily, especially if it rains, of course.  _

.. a podcast about flowers. Well, it was something nice to listen to instead of- 

"I didnt even wanna go on vacation! I wanted to just stay home! But you're always trying to do everything as if we're going to hit the lottery again!"

"That's not true! We have a lot saved up! More than we even need-!" 

"So you're going to spend the rest because we don't "need" it? You don't know WHAT could happen!" Brenda aaid, "Luke could get sick! Or the college he goes to could ask for more money than you thought! And what about when he gets older? Aren't we going to get him a car? Help him start his own life?!" 

"Who said we're not?"

"The number on the bank account!"

"So what- do you wanna go home then?"

"... Yeah- let's go home-"

Luke looked up, "wait! We have to go! I- told my- friend i'd meet them there!" Luke said, not wanting to give away anything just yet. 

"If they're your friend they'll understand-" Brenda said, and Luke huffed, "but that's not fair!" 

"Well you don't ever have to worry about financial troubles- so if you want to go- you'll have to have him take you-" Clark said, and Brenda looked at him. "Are you kidding me??"

"What?"

"Did you just give Luke permission to go off with some boy to another country- without even asking me first?!" 

The two started to argue again, and so Luke gently tapped Clive's face, trying to wake him up. He mumbled something, and swatted at the boy's hand, before scrunching his face up in annoyance. "Stop iit-" he whined, before Luke gently slapped him.

"Whaaat?" Clive sat up, rubbing his eyes as Luke started to grab their bags. "Drop us off!!" He yelled over the two, and they stopped arguing for a second and got quiet. Clive looked at everyone, and quietly sat in the corner of the car, unsure of what was going on. 

"Luke we're not dropping you off in the middle of nowhere by yourself-" Brenda said, and Luke huffed. "Drop me off! At the next stop! Or i'm just gonna open the door!"

"Luke-"

"I'm tired of you two always arguing! Every time I make plans you go back on them! It's why I never made any friends!" Luke said, "We have so much to be happy about and you two just keep finding reasons to hate each other! So drop me off! And i'm not by myself! I have Clive and he can take care of me!"

Clark sighed, "Luke- we- listen- i'm sorry- okay? But- we can't-"

Luke opened the car door, and Clive panicked, pulling him back over, "Ah- uh- it'll be fine! We'll just- take the trip on our own-!" He said, holding onto Luke, who was pouting to the extreme. 

"Are you sure? How are you going to get there?" Brenda asked.

"I- uh- i'll call a cab …" 

"But cabs are expensive-"

"I'm rich-"

"But what if someone steals your things?"

"I'm rich i'll just buy more-" 

"But how are you going to find somewhere to stay?"

" i'll just rent a place!" 

"... Right …" 

Clive wrapped his arms around Luke, wondering what happened. He was only asleep for a little while. 

"Well- be safe- okay? We're trusting you-"

"Yeah- uh-huh-" Clive was absolutely not listening, pulling his other earbud out as he looked around the car to make sure they had all of their things. Rubbing Luke's arm as the boy let his head rest on his chest. 

"We're coming with you- we just- need some alone time-" Brenda said.

"Yeah- i get it-" Clive stared down at Luke, watching as he started to fall asleep. 

Were they really gonna let him take Luke like this? He expected a little more resistance than just, "be safe" 

Well he was happy they trusted them but ..

When the car stopped in front of a creepy gas station, he was a little concerned. "Don't be afraid to give us a call- okay?" Brenda said.

"... Um- yeah- okay-" Clive opened the door, they really were just leaving, wow- why'd he have to open his mouth? 

Whatever-

He pulled Luke out, and sat him down on the trunk, handing him his phone so he could call them a cab. He started getting their things next, not bringing much in terms of personal items, but- it would be okay … right?

"Cwive?" Luke mumbled, clearly sleepy. Once Clive got their things out, he picked him up again, shutting the car door. "Yeah?" He asked. 

".. i love you-" Luke said, and he smiled back at him, "i love you too- are you okay?" He asked, watching Luke curl up a little.

"I just don't wanna end up like that .." he said, he really did just look like a little kid sometimes. 

"We won't." 

"How are you so sure?"

"How are you not?" 

"..." Luke sighed, "yeah- you're right .. well- while we're here can we get some snacks for the road?" Luke asked, and Clive nodded, "I'll stay here and watch our stuff- can you get me something too?"

"Yeah- i'll get you your monster-"

"Aw- you know me so well .." Clive said, watching him go …

He forgot to get any money, but- it'd be cute to watch him come back out all embarrassed. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Luke stood in the airport bathroom, making sure to take Clive's bag into the bathroom with him, along with his needle. 

Poke. Poke. Poke.

God- why did he bring so many? 

This process was going to take forever! And he only had a few more minutes left. 

"Luuke!?" Clive knocked on the door for the third time, and Luke ignored him, trying to get this done. 

"In a second!" He yelled back, sitting on the bathroom floor, surrounded by colorful condoms. 

"The plane is boarding!"

"I- i said in a second!"

The door opened, and Clive grabbed him, "We don't have time! And why are you poking holes in my condoms!??" 

"I wasn't!" Luke yelled, leaving them all behind as Clive grabbed both him and the bag. 

"Then what were you doing?!"

"I was making sure they work!"

"By sticking a needle through them??"

"Shut up!" Luke yelled, and it echoed off of the walls. Clive … tried not to think about all of the people that turned to look at them, and he just tossed his bag onto the table. 

He held Luke's hand, standing in line, waiting to get scanned as Luke stared down at the floor with a sour face.

“So- I just- I mean … what’s going on?” Clive asked, feeling Luke squeeze his hand. The boy looked up, at him, clearly embarrassed as he squeaked out his response. “You don’t have to use those anymore!” He said, hugging onto Clive’s arm, getting as close as physically possible. “You can just- do what you want! And- I- we- I-” Luke buried his face in his arm, mumbling something. 

“.. whatever it is- it’ll be fine if we-” Clive started to say something, before he was motioned to “hurry it up” through the metal detector. 

“I- well- we can talk on the plane can’t we?” Clive asked, and Luke nodded, letting his arm go ..

But how? How was he supposed to tell him something like that? How could he be expected to just come out and say it? He couldn’t! Never! Not ever! 

The boy sighed, watching as his boyfriend went through the process, coming out of the other side, ready to board the plane. He stood there, waiting on Luke as he was up next, watching and waiting. 

At least for a second, it wasn’t until he felt eyes on him that he looked away, seeing a girl standing off in the corner. She was just … staring at him. Well, more like she was glaring intensely at his face, in the way an angry mother might look at her son after finding out he went through her purse. 

He .. nervously waved, and she tilted her nose up, crossing her arms as she looked away. She was small, probably around Luke’s age, with her hair cut into a shoulder length bob. It was completely red, bright and vibrant, and though he couldn’t see it from where he was standing, her eyes were blue. 

She was wearing a dress, a sun dress that made it look like she was going to a nice resort somewhere.. 

“Clive stop being a creep-” 

“.. what? I wasn’t!” 

“Mmhmm- sure you weren’t” Luke said, and Clive just rolled his eyes, flicking Luke in his forehead. “Whatever- shorty- we gotta get going or they’re gonna take off without us-” Clive said, picking up their bags. Luke nodded, starting to walk in the direction of the long line of people getting on, before he was pulled away. 

“What are you doing? I’m not getting on that dirty plane- this way-” He said, and Luke looked, seeing that off in the distance there was someone waiting on them …

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Luke looked around the plane, it seemed more like … a flying house. He was laying on a bed, while Clive was kicked back in a chair, trying to solve a rubik's cube someone had left there. He hadn’t come close, not a single time, but- well, with all of his trying, he was sure to get it eventually right? 

“When did you upgrade our tickets?” Luke asked, looking over at him. 

“When i heard you say camping resort- i knew we’d have to fly there- and …” He stopped, staring at the colorful cube before turning around, “I refuse to go through the shitty airport security, and get on a shitty plane with crying babies and … gross, sticky, chairs that smell like old milk and toes- I know it probably sounds whiny but- it’s just- I hate it-” 

“Oh …”

“So i got us all new tickets- cause I thought they’d be with us- and then we’d have a comfortable, private place to break the news but .. you know-” Clive sighed, “i think I own this place- i dunno- the people here seem to recognize me but-”

“What? Your famil- or- well-” Luke wasn’t sure how to say what he was thinking at all, and Clive picked up on it with all of the boy’s stuttering. He smiled, “yeah- my adopted family probably owns the airline or something-”

“Oh- right-” Luke said .. it was quiet. Clive looked down, “so- your parents- are they just- always like that? I mean- I can understand a little bickering but they seem …”

Luke shook his head, “they love each other- they’re just getting old- i think-” Luke said, and Clive smiled at him, “yeah- probably … so you wanna tell me why you were poking holes in my-”

“I wasn’t!!!!” Luke covered his face, and rolled over.

“Luke- it’s okay- i’m just- i wanna know- you know?” He said, and Luke sighed, rolling over, looking at Clive. He laid there for a second, before closing his eyes, hiding his face in his hands. “I- I took the test again- and- there were two lines that time!” 

“... what?” Clive asked, and Luke looked up at him. “I’m not pregnant anymore! I dunno what happened-”

“... Luke- how many lines were on it when you took it the first time?” Clive asked, and Luke uncovered his face. “It was one! Duh- and I was so happy I told you before I even took another one- and now that i stopped taking my pills they’re all coming out with two stripes! It’s so confusing! I thought it was supposed to work the other way around!” 

“Oh god … Luke- noo-” Clive sighed, “Lukke-” 

“What? P-please don’t be mad!” 

“Luuuuukeee-” 

“S-stop it!” 

“Luuuukeeee!!!!” Clive got up, “One line means negative! Two lines mean pregnant!” 

“...” Luke sat there, a look of realization hitting him like a ton of bricks before he slapped himself on the forehead, unable to believe that he really just- he sighed, rolling over on the bed. 

“Oh ..” He whimpered, and Clive shook his head, sitting back down. 

“I’m sorry ..”

“It’s not your fault- I probably wouldn’t have known the difference either if I hadn’t already been through this … damn it- now you really are pregnant-!” 

“D-don’t yell at me!”

“I’m not yelling at you-” Clive slid the chair over, putting his hand on Luke’s side. He wrapped his arms around him, “i’m just- freaking out-”

Luke rolled over, wanting to be picked up. Clive just snorted, sitting down on the bed with Luke in his arms, holding onto him like he was a baby. “It’s gonna be okay ..” He said, and Luke sniffled, starting to tear up. 

“Huh? What’s wrong?” 

“Nothing- i’m just- sorry- i didn’t tell you- if I did then i wouldn’t be pregnant-”

“.. well- is it such a bad thing that you are?”

“No but- i’m scared ..”

“.. yeah- but-” Clive moved back, hugging Luke close. “I’ll be here for you- so there’s nothing to fear- if you ever need anything or want anything then you can just tell me- and i promise i’ll do whatever I can … _ so don’t cry cause it makes me wanna cry too- _ ” Clive mumbled the last part, and Luke giggled. “You can cry- maybe if we both cry we’ll feel better-” 

“Well now you’re smiling so I don’t wanna-” 

Luke faked an upset expression, and Clive just laughed, “come on- you’ll be okay~ how about you get some sleep before we get there? So you can give the guy directions- because I suck ..” 

“Yeah- alright .. thanks- for saying all of that-” Luke held onto him, “I really just needed to hear it- i think ..”

“Well- don’t be afraid to just ask next time! I’m never afraid to talk to you  _ most of the time  _ so-”

“Huhh? Most of the time?”

“Well you know how you are when you’re mad!” Clive laid down with Luke in his arms. “You’re all-  _ DoNt- tOucH mE or I’Ll CaLl THE COPS!!  _ So i just stay away-” 

“Hmf- it’s not like i mean it-” Luke said, closing his eyes. Clive nodded, “i know ..” He ran his hand through Luke’s hair.

Things were nice for a moment, it felt like they’d solved everything, even though they hadn’t. At least now they knew for sure their relationship would be okay.

“Luke- what are you doing?” Clive asked, feeling the boy take hold of his hand, and put it up his shirt. “Nothing- i just fall asleep better like this ..” 

“..”

“Don’t start rubbing me!” 

“You can’t just put my hand on it and expect me not t-” 

“Just be still-” Luke said, holding onto his arm. Clive reluctantly agreed … he’d just wait until Luke fell asleep like always. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Luke listened to Clive sing, it was quiet, and soft, a nice sound to help him sleep as the other stayed awake. Luke wondered if maybe he had insomnia, but asking him to go to the doctor would be a lot of work …

Clive stopped, he was sitting in the chair, boredly spinning around in it before he stopped, and stared down at the floor. He was still for a moment, before he stood up, and walked over to the bed, laying back down with Luke. 

The boy decided to just pretend like he was still asleep, feeling arms come around his waist and pull him closer. He nearly gasped as a tongue slid across his neck, feeling Clive’s hand rubbing his stomach. Was he just- bored? 

He turned red at the little nibbles that followed afterwards, and let out the smallest of silent moans at a pretty decent bite. Clive started to suck, leaving hickeys and marks all down the side of Luke’s neck, eventually stopping when Luke was rolled over onto his back, squirming, trying to keep his eyes shut as Clive continued on and on. 

The boy was surprised this was still something he did while he slept. He thought that maybe Clive stopped at some point- but … of course not- why would he? 

The perv would never. 

Luke blushed as his hand brushed across something, hard and- bla bla bla it was his dick and it was only growing. Clive stopped though, sighing as he laid there for a second …

Luke wondered why he stopped, maybe he didn’t mean to go so far? And he didn’t wanna wake the boy up so he was just waiting for it to go back down .. or maybe he just wasn’t in the mood. So Luke did what he thought he should do … and moved back, pressing his butt up against it. 

He heard Clive hiss a little, so he was definitely trying to keep it from going any further …

“.. Luke-” he whispered, and Luke didn’t reply. 

“Luke? …” Clive shook him a little, and the boy just hummed. 

“Are you awake?” 

“No -” 

“..” Clive huffed, “then you won’t mind this right?” he asked, getting no response as he slid the boy’s shorts down. Luke waited a moment, wondering if he was gonna put it in before he felt it poke up against the wrong place. 

“.. Cli-” Luke gasped, “it- n-no! The other- that’s not-” He arched, legs shaking as Clive managed to push his tip into Luke’s backside.

It actually … felt really good. Luke almost immediately felt some pain though, gripping his sheets as Clive went in just a little further. It hurt- it hurt a lot, but Luke took it all, until finally. 

“S-stop!” He whimpered, holding onto the bed, laying on his side, bent over as Clive held his hips. 

“Does it hurt?”

“Y-yes-”

“You wanna stop?” Clive asked, slowly starting to slide out of him. Luke just let out a shaky breath, shaking his head no, god no, please no before feeling it slowly go back in. It felt Like … Clive was stretching him, the deeper he got, the worse it started to feel. 

“M-maybe- s-some lube-?” He asked, covering his face, he couldn’t believe he just said that! Clive nodded, and reached forward, wiping his fingers down between Luke’s legs, embarrassing him even further. 

“Y-you can’t use that!!” Luke yelled at him, “it’s- gross! And there’s not enough-!” 

“Huh? There’s- plenty-” Clive said, pulling Luke’s legs apart as he sat up. Even the feeling of it turning inside of him felt extremely good, but what didn’t feel so good was being exposed like this. Clive pulled out, and tossed Luke’s underwear to the side, pushing two of his fingers into him. They came out all sticky, and Luke turned away, panting softly as Clive taunted him about it. 

“Loook~ there’s so much!”

“S-stop it!” 

“You’ve been like this a lot recently- something you wanna tell me?” 

“N-no!” 

“Aw~ come on~” 

“ there isn’t!” Luke whined, gasping as Clive leaned down, kissing him. “I know it’s something-”

“...” Luke huffed, and looked away, “you’ll laugh at me-” 

“.. whaaat there actually is something?” Clive asked, laying next to him. Luke clenched his fists, and curled up, “I just- i’m- I … could be- your- m-mom-”

“...” Clive snorted, and Luke felt his soul crumble up into a million little pieces. He started slapping at him, until Clive grabbed his arms, “Luke it’s okay if you have a mommy kink or something-” 

“I ABSOLUTELY DO NOT- LET ME GO OR IM CALLING THE COPS-”

“What are you gonna call the air force? You’re stuck with me~” Clive said, before hearing a knock at the door. 

“ _ Um … sir- the plane landed about ten minutes ago and we need you to get off ..”  _

  
  


“...” Luke slid out of Clive’s grasp, and went over to the window, opening the blinds to see that it wasn’t night time at all, it was just … 

Dark in the room.

“Ah- well- i’m gonna-” Clive got up- and Luke nodded, letting him use the bathroom, picking his underwear up off of the floor. 

Hopefully they didn’t hear any of that.


	44. Attatchment

Clive watched Luke as he built a sand castle, kicking a towel until it was completely flat on the ground. He was only wearing a pair of trunks, being bullied into taking his shirt off by Luke, who wanted to see him "be more natural."

He put down a chair, and …

What was he doing? He'd been so lost in thought that he'd put the chair down upside down, and the umbrella had blown away in the wind. 

He sighed, it was just- hard to focus- seeing Luke in a bikini and a tiny little top. Solid blue, playing around in the crystal clear water. The way his body looked when it was all wet, dripping with the salty ocean's water. His small thighs and slim legs that seemed to just be getting longer and longer every day. Clive got him a seashell ankle bracelet from the gift shop, and it only made him look even more attractive.

He'd put the chair on it's side …

Clive kicked the chair over the right way, and tried to clear his mind so he could actually be of some use. He quickly walked off to go and get the umbrella, bringing it back and sticking it in the ground. 

… he took it out, and turned it over the right way,  _ hopefully Luke didn't see any of that. _

He sat down on the towel, and tried to work up the courage to go near the water. He wanted to go help Luke build his sandcastle, and play on the beach with him and stuff, but .. the ocean is sort of scary isn't it? He was … afraid to even touch the water, honestly. 

But- since it was clear it was slightly less scary, at least he could see that there was nothing in it …

But there could be something under the sand. 

Like a giant hand! 

Or a giant man!

Or a giant man with giant hands! A giant sand hand man!

"Clive-?" Luke asked, wondering why he was suddenly spaced out. "Are you gonna come get in the water?" 

"... Uh- i- mean- not right now- i kind of wanma go when it's not so hot outside you know?" Clive said, and Luke nodded. "I wonder what bathing suit mom's gonna wear .." he said, watching as Clive immediately spaced out. He sat down on his lap, and leaned against him, watching the waves crash onto the sand, spraying water everywhere. 

"Huh?" Clive asked, and Luke smiled, "i didn't say anything .. you're so gross-"

"I'm- not!" Clive said. 

"It's. My. mom! YOUR mom!"

"She does it on purpose!"

"Does what on purpose?"

"She-! Ugh!" Clive let his back hit the sand, "just leave me alone.. i can't help it- nobody my age looks like that- and for the record i'm not any better when i'm thinking about you so what does it matter?"

"... She's your mom too- and you're being just like my dad- you don't even know anything about her .." Luke said, "People don’t talk to her normally- you know? How do you think she feels being looked at like that all the time?" 

".. are you trying to hook me up with your mom or something?"

"No!! Stupid! I just want you to not be so weird around her! And stop staring at her boobs!"

Clive huffed, “we have a mutual understanding about it at this point-” He said, and Luke crossed his arms, “well at least don’t do it so much-”

"Then you gotta stop staring at mine too .."

"That's different!" Luke turned red, poking Clive in his chest. "Yours are all hard-" 

".." Clive pulled Luke's face down into his chest, and Luke whined, unable to breathe as he squirmed. 

"Shhh-" Clive said, listening to Luke’s muffled scream, stopping as a shadow blocked the sun from his face. He looked up to see the same little girl from the airport, her red hair flowing free in the wind as she stood above him. She was wearing a frilly pink top and a pair of blue jean shorts, along with some flip flops … or- a single flip flop. She was missing the other one. Where was it? Nobody knows- 

He let go of Luke, and sat up as the boy prepared to yell at him before looking over and seeing the girl. She tilted her nose up, hands on her hips as she stared down at the two. 

"Your name is Clive- and you've been looking for your dad .." she said in a grandiose voice of arrogant all-knowingness. 

"... Um- are you-" Clive started to say something. 

"I'm a witch!" The girl spoke before he could say anything, striking a pose in the sand. "My name is Arianna- your long lost sister- at last- You're in the presence of greatness! Behold!"

"..."

The girl was completely still, making it very clear that she wasn’t about to move an inch until they acknowledged her. How .. exactly- was he expected to formulate a response though? At first Clive felt his heart drop- an actual family member- a real one! Related by blood! But before he could express how happy he was, his autopilot took over. Clive looked at her, and hummed, "wow .. what a nerd." 

"... THAT is your response to seeing someone you've been wanting to see for so long?!" The girl turned red, and Clive just shrugged.

"I- didn't even know you existed until two days ago .." 

"Wh- how?!" She said, completely offended. Luke smiled, "Wow- you’re so pretty! And you look nothing like him- are you sure you two are related?" He asked, and the girl just huffed. "Yes i'm sure! He was the one who sent that letter right? It was me who replied for dad!" 

"You did?" Clive asked, "wait- so he didn't actually say anything?" He said, feeling a completely different emotion start to kick it’s way back up.

"Well- n-no- but- still!" Arianna huffed, “I’m here to see you!”

"Did he at least come with you-?"

"No but-"

"What? Why not?! After all this time and he couldn't even be bothered t-"

"Will you shut up!" She yelled, taking in a deep breath. "He couldn't make it- so I decided to come … and i came here all by myself too- and- i-i'm not going back!" She said. 

Clive just looked at her, unable to really believe that this was really happening. She stood still, none of them said anything for a while. The wind picked up the sand and sprayed it across the sky, blowing the corner of the towel a little bit.

"Well you gotta go home eventually- i think it's illegal for you to just- stay here .." Clive said, and Luke nodded. "Plus- there's no room in our dorm-" 

"Hmf- can't you find somewhere for me to stay? I don't wanna go back!"

"Well- that sounds like a you problem-" Clive said, and she looked at him .. before bursting into tears. She dropped down, crying incredibly loudly, balling her fists up, pushing away the tears as they fell onto the ground. 

"I- okay! Don't cry - we'll find you somewhere to stay!" Luke said, and Clive stopped him, "she's faking.”

".. she is?" Luke asked, looking at her, watching her expression go from completely distraught to pure unfiltered anger in just a few seconds. 

She huffed, "pleaaaaseee! I don't wanna go back! Don't make me! Please please please please please please!!" She continued to beg, screaming out “please” until she was writhing around in the sand, begging for him to let her stay. It took a surprisingly long time, Luke sat there awkwardly for what felt like five whole minutes, before finally ...

"... Fine" Clive sighed, "just- stop asking already .." 

She stopped … and got up, dusting herself off, nodding as if nothing had ever happened, "I have other more important matters to attend to now-" she got up, striking another pose, "the stars beckon me! I'll see you back at the cabins!" She said, running away. She didn’t go very far, jumping right into the beach water like … a little kid on spring break. Clive just watched her go, before turning back to Luke, sharing a look of disbelief with him. 

"What a nerd .." he laid back again, and Luke smiled at him. "You don't seem so happy- you have a sister! This is a really good moment right?"

"I am happy- i'm just worried about her- she said she came here by herself- and that she isn't leaving .. and it was her that wrote the letter, and not dad- so- i'm sure that must mean there's something going on.. Plus she’s so small- I can’t just leave her alone- you know?”

".. yeah- you're right! Maybe we should go and talk to her- I don’t think it’s okay to let her go off by herself-”

“Probably-” Clive said, realizing that this meant he’d end up being a babysitter from this point on … well, the vacation was fun while it lasted. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


“Aaaaand I want some ice cream aaaand that- and that too!” 

Luke dried his hair off with a towel, walking along the sidewalk of the beach’s plaza. Ari had been pointing at everything she saw, saying she wanted it, and even though she wasn’t getting a response, it didn’t stop her. 

Clive seemed to be looking around for something to eat too, they all got hungry at the same time and decided to go looking, but so far there wasn’t really anything interesting here. Most of it was just standard beach food, crepes, ice cream, popsicles. 

“You wanna just get some pizza and go home?” Clive asked, and Luke nodded, before hearing the loud protestant whines of Ari, “whaaat? You don’t wanna eat out here? But it’s so pretty!” 

“It’s just the beach-” Clive looked around, and Luke started to think about something.

“But i’ve never been to the beach!” She said, “pleeaase?” 

“Okay! Don’t start that up again …" Clive caved almost immediately. Though he was more concerned with the fact that she'd never been to the beach before. Not that everyone on earth had been to the beach, just- he didn't imagine this was the first time she'd been to a place like this. 

"Let's go in there!" She pointed to a little building at the edge of the sidewalk, running off towards it. 

Clive started to tell her to hold on, and not to run off but ..  _ it'd be too much work. _ He just held onto Luke's hand, making sure he had his wallet before he walked in after the two. 

He looked around, seeing that she was being given a few books to sit on at her own table. The two walked over to her, seeing that she was staring down at the menu with an intensive gaze. 

She nodded, humming to herself. Clive just pulled up a chair and sat down, about to pull up one for Luke before he jumped up onto him. 

"Did you figure out what you wanted?” Clive asked, and Ari looked up at him, before putting the menu down. 

“What’s that word?” She asked, pointing to something on the menu. 

“... The ..” Clive said, and she nodded, “and that one?” 

“House ..”

“And this one?”

“Spe- C-Can you not read?” Clive asked, and Ari shook her head. “Not in english! It’s haard none of the words sound how they’re spelled!” She whined. Clive just, sighed, “well- that’s what the pictures are for I guess- just pick whatever looks good-” He said, and Luke smiled, “don’t feel bad- he can’t read either-” 

“I can read!” 

“Mmhmm-” Luke nodded, “so if you ever need any help you can always ask me-” 

“... ooh- you’re like- my little brother!” 

“... i’m older than you!” Luke said, turning red. Ari shook her head, “nu-uh-” 

“Yes I am! I’m thirteen!” 

“And i’m eleven and Eleven is bigger than thirteen!” 

“You-” Luke huffed, “I see the resemblance now …” He mumbled, elbowing Clive in the stomach when he had the nerve to laugh at it. 

The three ordered, and talked for a while. Mostly about nothing and everything. Clive ended up asking how she got here, and Ari responded with ..

“He left his wallet out so I took it.” 

“... I-  _ you what? _ Is that why you don’t wanna go back home?” 

She nodded, and Clive sighed, feeding Luke spoonfuls of cake. He’d ordered his own food but- he was too busy feeding Luke to really be all that hungry himself. “So you’re just never gonna see him again?” Clive asked, and Ari nodded. “He’s fine- My psychic abilities are telling me that he’s perfectly safe on his own-” 

“you're- psychic?" Clive asked, and she nodded, "i have special powers that let me see into the future- and read minds sometimes! And sometimes it controls the weather- but only when i have to pee-" 

"Pff-" Clive looked away, "i see- and you said you were a witch?" He asked, hiding his smile in his hand as he tried to keep from laughing. 

She nodded, "I'm an ocean witch!"

"Huh? But you've never been to the beach?" 

"Because !" She said, biting at the slice of pizza in her hand. "Nello doesn't like the beach- too many people- he gets all scared and stuff-" she said.

"... is that his name? Nello?"

"You mean dad? You don't even know his name?" Ari asked, and Clive sighed, "No but- everything in your letter was something i'd heard him say, or- it all adds up the right way so i know for a fact that you are who you say you are … i just- don't know- who you are? Or who he is- anymore …" 

"..." Ari nodded, "it's been a long time- and since you didn't inherit the family's psychic powers- you had no idea- but don't worry! I can tell you everything you wanna know! Starting with his name! It's Niklaus but he likes Nello-" 

"..." Clive nodded, starting to smile, realizing he'd been sorta named after his dad. He couldn't be happier to know that fact, "cool-" 

"I wish i could have gotten in touch with mommy-"

"... You mean she's- alive?" Clive asked, and Ari nodded, "but she left- because Nello gave away Something she had- they got a biiiig divorce-" 

"I- … wait- this was recent?" 

"Nope! It was a long time ago- that's just how he says it to me- and then he gets all sad and so I stop asking-” 

“I- see-” Clive said, “have you talked to her recently?” 

“Nope- she’s gone-”

“...” Clive looked down, maybe … maybe after she died, he didn’t wanna tell her where she went, so he made all that up. He almost got hope that he’d be able to see them both, but- probably not. “Don’t you think he’ll be sad if he’s by himself?” Clive asked, seeing her face suddenly change it’s expression.

"Oh" she said, looking down at her empty plate. She looked like she was gonna fall asleep any second now, so that meant it was time to go before Clive had to carry someone. She also looked a little worried though, but- there wasn’t much he felt he could do about that.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


He ended up carrying them both, Luke was upset that he couldn't ride on Clive's shoulders as they walked up the hill to their cabin. Clive responded to that by just carrying him in his arms, having already brought their chair up a while ago. The dirt path made it a little easier to navigate the forest in the night, otherwise they might have actually gotten lost. 

"... OH- i- should probably- uh- you two should probably introduce yourselves?" Clive asked. Having forgotten to mention anything to her about himself. 

Ari looked down at Luke, who stared up at her, arms crossed as he waited for her to say something. 

"Okay! I'm Arianna but i like Ari! And this is my big brother!" She said, putting her hands on Clive's face. Luke smiled, "I'm Luke- i don't really have a nickname- and this is my  _ Boyfriend- _ " he said, totally not in an obviously jealous tone. 

“Boyfriend?” Ari asked, and Luke nodded, “that’s right- my-”

“He was mine first- you can’t have him!” she said, putting her hands over Clive’s face. He stopped, and Luke immediately rebutted, “He didn’t even know you existed! And you can’t date your brother anyways!” 

“Why not?” 

“Because i’m dating him!!” Luke yelled. Ari huffed, “but he’s MY brother!” 

“.. that’s- not how- that works-” Clive said, and she went quiet for a few seconds, audibly mumbling about it before going, “what do you mean?” 

“I mean- you don’t just … n-nevermind- you can find your own boyfriend ..” He said, and she smiled, “Can we go looking tomorrow?” 

“Sure ..”

“Yaaay!” she yelled, letting go, falling backwards onto the dirt. Clive stopped, he had a feeling she’d be fine since she’d been tripping and falling all day long. He was surprised she hadn’t scraped or bruised anything …

“Are you okay?” 

“I’m okay!”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Clive was still awake, of course, he knew he’d be able to sleep if he just held onto Luke, but for some reason he didn’t feel like it. Luke was … asleep, probably, Clive cuddled him until he dozed off, but he hadn’t woken back up yet. The room was completely wooden, a wooden bed, wooden table, wooden chairs and a quilted blanket that was so warm it could keep you asleep in it’s comfort for years. The lamp in the corner gave off a warm glow, the lightbulb was barely doing anything as far as illuminating the room went, but it was fine.

It was calm, dark, the perfect place to think, and actually process what was happening. He wished he could wake Ari up and ask her a million and one questions about her life, and how she got here and if his dad would come to get her but, he had no idea where to start … he guessed he should start by calling him- right? Then he’d actually get to hear his voice- 

Yeah … Clive pulled out his phone, and got up, dialing the number from memory. He’d been sitting on the floor, letting the other two sprawl out as much as they wanted since there was just one bed. The phone rang for a second, and he stared out the window. He wondered what the guy’s voice would sound like, Clive knew his own voice was apparently high pitched, but he hoped it was something he got from his mom … He thought about that for a second, and then another thought crossed his mind … 

“ _ What if my dad is super short?”  _

He flinched at the sound of a phone ringing, and turned, watching as Ari slowly rolled over, rubbing her face. She pulled the phone up from under the blankets, and answered it. 

“Hewwo?” she asked, dressed in fluffy pajamas that would almost be cute if he wasn’t so mad right now. 

“...  **Why did you take his phone?! How are we supposed to call him to come get you?!** ”

“... who’s this?” She yawned, “is this the school? I already did my homework!” she said, half asleep and dozing off. 

Clive stood, “it’s me you- ugh! Give me that-” he took the phone from her hand, and looked down at the screen. 

“There’s someone yelling on the other side-” she said, and Clive stared down at the phone, sliding his finger across the screen to unlock it. He stared at the home screen … and sighed, “go to bed ..” He told her, sitting back down. 

“Okaay-” 

She hit the pillows, and Clive stared at the wallpaper on the phone … he thought it was him for a second, but it wasn’t. It was a picture of Niklaus, holding what looked like maybe a five year old Arianna …

It was him …

Not exactly how he remembered but, it was definitely him. He decided to be a little nosy, going to the photo gallery, seeing that Ari had taken a bunch of pictures of herself. They were … kinda cute, in a gross kind of cute way. 

He scrolled all the way down, until he ran across a few pictures of some random woman. The further he went, the more women there were, until finally he got to the last picture. 

“11 years ago” 

… well, it wasn’t his mom, they were entirely different in every aspect, but she was … pretty. He sighed, not what he was looking for. 

He closed it, and decided to go through his contact list. He didn’t know why he wanted to snoop around so much, he just- had to! He had a right to know this stuff right? Right?

He stared at the screen, scrolling through name after name, most of them were women …

“ _ My dad’s a skeez ..” _

He stopped when he got to a contact that said. “Home.” 

Was it his house phone? It could be ...

He paused for a moment, before hesitantly pressing it. It rang for a little while … before he heard a loud buzzing behind him. He looked, and watched as Ari took a second to wake up again, grabbing one of those safety flip phones you give a little kid before they can have a real phone. She flipped it open, and answered it. “Hii daddy ..”

“...” Clive hung up, “Ari.” 

“... hello?”

“Ari-”

“He hung up-” 

“ **ARI-** ” 

“Huh?” she turned, and Clive just … melted onto the floor. “Nevermind …” 

“Oh- okay- are you gonna go to sleep?”

“... yeah ..” 

“.. when?”

“Just go back to bed- i’ll go to sleep when I feel like it-”

“Ohh - do you have a sleeping problem too?”

“... does dad not sleep either?”

“Nope! He stays up all night long and then in the morning he passes out like a big ol’ rock-” 

“...  _ why’d he have to have so many bad genes .. bastard- _ ”

“Huh?”

“Go to bed- i’ll sleep in a second-” 

“Come back nooow!” 

“ _ In a second- _ ”

“Okaay-” She hit the pillows again … Clive just- hoped he could manage to make the most of this situation. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Luke watched as Ari tried to blow up a beach ball. She wanted to play, they’d come down to the beach again to “find her a boyfriend” which just turned into Clive distracting her with other stuff to keep her from even asking about that. 

He was pretty sure she forgot by now but … as he sat there, watching as she tried to blow up a beach ball without even putting her mouth to the hole, he started to wonder if maybe she needed a little help …

“Um- you have t-” he started to say, sitting by the water in the sand with her. 

“I got it!” She said, face turning red as she continued just the way she was. Luke just watched … She was taking deep breaths, blowing air into the plastic, making a “pbbbtttt!!” noise with every exhale. Eventually she started to look dizzy, but when Luke tried to help her, she refused. 

“Are you sure you don’t-”

“I can do it!” She whined, continuing to try. 

“O-okay ..” Luke mumbled. She took in a breath, and … fell over, passing out. The waves washed up onto her body, and Luke just sat there for a second before looking up as Clive came over. 

He was laughing, though he was trying to hide it. “Clive your sister is …” Luke looked away as Clive picked her up. “She’s what?” 

“She’s … got a sunburn-” Luke said, deciding not to tell Clive how she passed out. Clive picked her up, looking over her shoulders. They were red, he’d forgotten all about sunscreen, he never wore any and somehow he never got a sunburn. 

“We should have something for it in the bag-” He said, and Luke nodded, picking up the deflated beach ball as they made their way back over to their little spot. Clive set her down on the chair, and Luke pulled out a bottle of sunscreen spray. He shook it up, whether or not he needed to, and sprayed her shoulders. He was careful to get the kind that could help with swelling, in case he forgot to put some on before he went on the beach and ended up like Ari. 

“My turn-” he said, handing it to Clive, who bent down a little so he could spray him off. 

“... do you like my bathing suit?” Luke asked, and Clive hummed …

“Where’d you get it from?”

“I bought it online~” 

“Hm-” Clive said, dropping the can. 

“.. hmmmm~?” Luke asked, looking over at him. 

The bathing suit was really cute, it was a one piece with ruffles on the shoulders, slit open in the shape of a diamond at Luke’s stomach, showing off his belly button ..

“I guess it’s kind of cute …” He said, and Luke looked up at him …

“What are you thinking about?” 

“.. cows-”

The bathing suit was cow print, and tight … the little bows on his hips- 

“Baby cows-” Clive corrected himself, and Luke huffed, “are you calling me a cow?” 

“A baby cow-” Clive said, picking up the beach ball. Luke huffed … “you’re always so mean- you should try being nice sometimes-” He crossed his arms, and Clive hummed … 

He started blowing up the beach ball, as Luke stood there, not really mad, just wanting to be noticed. 

“You’re right-” Clive said, looking up at Luke. He smiled, “i’m sorry- you look really cute in your new bathing suit-” he said …

Luke took a step back, “what are you doing with your face!!?”

“Hmmmm whatever do you mean~?” 

“You changed it! You look-” Luke turned red, “how are you doing that?!” 

“Doing what? This is how I always look-” 

“And what’s wrong with your voice!?” 

“Luke are you okay?” Clive asked, in a very, very sarcastic tone. He closed the beach ball, and got up, Even the way he stretched looked completely different. It was like … Luke could see what all those girls saw- the reason they were all tripping over each other to get to him. 

“...” Luke looked down, “you can stop now!” 

“Stop what?”

“Stop that!!” Luke threw the ball at him, and he caught it. Even the way he did that was somehow perfect ... “Well you said I should be nicer- is this not what you wanted me to do?” Clive asked, going right back to his normal self. 

“You- just- look different- when you smile and stuff- and I don’t wanna  _ make  _ you pretend to be happy or something-” 

“I seeeeeeeeee-” Clive said, starting to walk off. Luke wondered where he was going before he spotted her in the distance. Long brown hair and beautiful blue- i mean- green- i mean- brown eyes. Right? They’re brown right? 

“Hiii!” Brenda waved, and Luke dropped his beach ball, running over to her. His parents were finally here, but- of course, Clark wasn’t the one to be worried about. 

Brenda had showed up in a bikini that barely even fit, as in, the areola of her nipples were clearly visible. 

“Mooom noo!!!” Luke screamed, trying to tackle Clive to the ground. He jumped at him, but just ended up sort of sticking to his side. Clive reached out, and Brenda ended up giving him a hug. 

“I was so worried- you two went off on your own and I felt so bad for leaving but i’m happy you’re all okay!” She said, and Clive just nodded, having not heard any of it. 

Luke huffed, “moom what are you wearing?! It’s not covering anything!” 

“Hmf-” Brenda pulled away, “well they don’t make ones big enough for me that are in stores so i just got the biggest one they had!” She said. She seemed offended, which Clive immediately responded to.

“Luke don’t be rude- it’s not like it’s her fault they’re like that-” Clive said, and Luke bit his hand …

ouch.

Brenda just nodded, “thank you Clive- some people just don’t understand-” Brenda sternly stated, adjusting her top. 

“Totally-” Clive agreed, feeling Luke spit his hand out. “Mooom! Please put a shirt on!” Luke said, and Brenda shrugged, “i don’t wanna- so what are you two doing?” 

“What kind of reason is “ _ I don’t wanna”? _ !” 

“It’s my reason!” She said, before Clark put a hand on her head, “just let her wear it-” He said, and she smiled. He seemed so defeated, Luke could only wonder what he’d gone through trying to get her to change, only for it not to work. 

“So … I mean- is everything- okay now?” Clive asked, sort of seeming like he didn’t know whether or not he should ask at all. Maybe it wasn’t his business, but he was happy to hear it was fine. Brenda started explaining how they went on a small date somewhere not so nice but- it was so much fun she just couldn’t be mad anymore. He even agreed to stop spending so much on these trips and spend more time just being there. 

Meanwhile … Clark was staring off in the distance ...


	45. Bedside

Clark sat next to the beach chair, offering to watch over Ari while Luke and Clive went to go see what else was at the resort. Brenda went with them, saying she saw a cotton candy stand and that she’d bring him back some …

The orange umbrella casted a glowing shadow over her form. She was sprawled out on the beach chair, he felt like he could look at her for hours and never get tired of the image. That orange hair, slender figure and short stature. Slightly parted pink plump lips, the slow motion of her flat chest rising and falling as she took each breath. In and out, his mind went in circles …

She had a nice complexion too, and the most adorable thing about her were the freckles on her back. For some reason, they were only on her back, going down her lower back, passing her butt, spreading out on her thighs before disappearing altogether …

He reached out, Clive specifically said not to touch her. 

At all.

He made it so incredibly clear that he would be dead set on skinning Clark alive if he so much as even got a little beach water on her … but he wasn’t here to see, right? 

He just … brushed his hand past her hair, pushing it out of her face. Her hair was a little coarse, but- it was probably from being in the sun all day, and the salt water. It was wet, dripping, she stirred a little bit, rolling over onto her other side as she swatted his hand away. 

… no way was this his sister- 

She’s way too cute!

He sighed, wishing she would wake up so he could hear what her voice sounded like …

She rolled over onto her back, one of her arms falling off of the side of the chair, hitting his leg. Her other hand rested on her stomach … such small hands, and slim arms. 

He was lucky this place was so expensive, or he’d probably be seeing a lot more people here on the beach. There was nearly nobody, besides him, and his own family.

Brenda would probably be upset if she found out …

He sighed, and pulled away. As much as he wanted to just pick her up and run away forever, he’d rather keep his wife happy. Of all the smiles, hers is the brightest, he couldn’t really imagine a world without it ..

But then again ... it’s not like he wanted to do anything bad. He just wanted to hold her, the same way he held onto Luke when he took his naps, until Luke decided he didn’t wanna anymore. He just missed having someone to project his love onto, isn’t that what kids are good for anyways? Just loving them all the time, having a little ball of happiness to share your happiness with. 

She opened her eyes, and hummed, stretching her legs out like a tired kitten. 

“Big- .. brother?” she looked over at Clark, rubbing her eyes. 

She looked at Clark, who was definitely not her brother, and tilted her head ..“Oh- hii ..” she said, laying sort of Limp against the beach chair.

“.. Hi-” Clark said, “are you looking for Clive already?” he asked, wondering how long he could stall for.

“Ohh you know him?” 

Clark nodded, “of course I do- i’m his father in law-” 

“... but you don’t look anything like daddy-” She said, “are you wearing a disguise? It’s creepy- take it off!” she said, pulling at his arm. He chuckled, “i didn’t mean it like that- I’m not his real dad- it’s like um- i’m his dad as long as he’s with Luke- you’ve met Luke right? That’s my d- my son-” He said, and she looked up. “Ohh .. you mean- the short one? He’s really cute!” 

“You think so? I think so too! Isn’t his face just adorable?”

“I like his eyelashes!” 

“Me too!” Clark said, “and the way he tries to act so grown up is just adorable- everything from his chest to his height has been perfect since the day he was born- and the best part- he still hasn’t grown much this year! Ah- it’s the best- he’s the best- I wish he'd let him hug him more often but every time i try he gets upset! It's so unfair ..” 

“...” Ari just stared at him, not sure what he was talking about, but happy that he seemed so happy.

She slid off of the chair, and got up, “but where’s Clive?” she asked, looking around for him. She walked past Clark, who .. really didn’t know where they were at the time. “I’m sure we can find them if we look, you wanna go looking with me?” he asked her, and she looked at him …

“Um … um-” she seemed to squirm a little, and he tilted his head. 

“Something the matter?”

“He told me- if I lose him- to not go away from my spot ..” she said. “And he made a really scary face- like this-” she scowled at Clark, “and then he said he would cut me up into little pieces and feed me to a dog! And i’m pretty sure that would hurt- and I don’t like dogs!” she said. "But i like puppies .. baby frogs too-"

Clark sighed, “I see … but if I take you to him- he won’t be mad ..” he said, and Ari thought about it for a second … she shuffled away from Clark. “He also said not to talk to strangers ..” 

“What? I’m not a stranger-” Clark

“Yeah huh! I don’t even know your name!” Ari said, and Clark sighed. “It’s Clark-” 

“Oh … hiiii my name is Arianna! I’m a witch!” she said, striking a pose for him. He smiled, “well, Miss Arianna, now we’re not strangers are we?” 

“.. ohh you’re right! Oh- have you seen Clive?” 

“I- we- well he left a little while ago with Luke- do you want to go look for him?” Clark asked, feeling like he was repeating himself a little. She looked down, as if she was processing what he was saying, staring at the sand for a second before she smiled. “Sorry, my big brother told me that if I lost him I can’t move from this spot ..” she said, and Clark sighed, picking her up. 

“... where are we going?” she asked, and Clark just shook his head. “I’m gonna take you to your brother-”

“Oh .. but- the spot-”

“Don’t worry about it- okay?” 

“O-okay ..” she said, yawning quietly. “I’m gonna take a nap …” she said, letting her head rest on his arms. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Ari stared out at the hot tub, wondering if it was really Alright to get in. She'd been given a cookie, and taken back to this room. It had a huge bed, and a bunch of other cool stuff in it. A massive tv, boxes of pizza, snacks, games, all kinds of things. 

But right now, she was sitting down on the edge of a concrete ground, with her feet inside of a tub of bubbling water. 

She flinched as a sound went off behind her, and Clark came out, holding his phone. He looked at her, and smiled, "you don't have to get in it- i was just saying you can if you want to- at least until we find out where he is-" He said, and Ari looked at him, before looking down at the hot tub … 

She slid down into it, and Clark took that as his sign that she'd probably wanna stay here. It was mid afternoon now, and they'd yet to find Clive. He'd been trying to call him, but there was no answer. 

He was genuinely starting to worry. 

But he didn't need Ari to know anything was wrong, so he brought her here in hopes of distracting her long enough until he figured out what was going on. But … he was mostly distracted by her instead. 

"Miss Arianna?" He asked, and she looked over at him, dropping her cookie into the tub. She gasped, and stuck her hand down in the water, trying to fish it out.

"Oh noo! My cookie!!" She whimpered, it'd been pretty much vaporized.

She finally got it, but … 

"It died … my cookie- the world is cruel! I want out!" 

"Aw … I'll get you another one- it's okay-" Clark said, giving her a pat on the head. She smiled, such a cute little face ... "but- for now- do you know if your brother has his phone with him?" He asked, and she looked at him.

".. oh! No- i have it- it's right here-" she said, pulling it from under the water. Surprisingly, Clive had a waterproof phone, so it was still perfectly fine after being completely submerged in a hot tub. Clark sighed, "oh Ari- why do you have his phone?" He asked, and she hummed quietly to herself, deep in the realms of her mind, thinking … why- why? 

"I dunno- it's pretty-" she said. Indeed the phone was pretty, and the case it was in was fully customized. Sparkling stones and what looked like flakes of gold- 

"Damn rich kid …" Clark mumbled, turning it on. Arianna sat there for a few more moments, before quietly shuffling around. "Did I do good? Can I have my cookie now?" She asked.

"Of course- I'll be right back .." he said, walking off. Clive's phone had a password lock, but- Luke wouldn't answer any calls from Clark. He'd overdone his checking in, and now the boy's phone just ignored him until he checked it again.

Clark wondered what his password was, he tried "Luke" first. When that didn't work, he tried thinking of something else Clive would use as a password …  _ but he didn't really know anything about the kid _ . 

Shit .. he looked at the home screen, it was a picture of what looked like a contorted demon. 

He tried "Demon" "Satan" "dragon" but none of it worked. So he gave up, and set the phone down on the kitchen counter, reaching up into the cabinet to grab the jar of cookies. He pulled one out, leaving the rest on the counter as he went back over to the backyard of the little resort home. 

He slid open the door, seeing that Ari was just … floating face down in the water. 

Like a dead fish. 

He rushed over, dropping everything he had in his hands, pulling her out of the water with one quick motion. He'd only turned around for 2 seconds! Was she okay? 

"Ari? Arianna!!" He shook her, and she whined, swatting at his arms, "stop ittt-" She slapped at him, so he set her down. She seemed fine, her eyes were a little red, but other than that, she wasn't coughing up water or- anything .. "Don't do that! You scared me-" Clark said. What would he have done if she would have drowned?

"But .. I didn't do anything-" she said, sinking back into the water. "I was looking at the bottom, there's something down there-" 

"It's- probably just cookie crumbs- but listen- uh- i can't seem to get in contact with anyone- but it's getting late so we should probably just stay here and wait for them to come back- sound good?"

".. okay- um-" she got up, "can we go get my clothes? I'm cold-" she said, "and this thing smells like the ocean .." 

"Um- i guess we can- maybe we'll even run into them there- they could just be at home .." Clark said, mostly to himself. He was thinking about it so much that it caught him off guard when Ari handed him a piece of fabric. He looked at her …

"Aah! No dont take it off! Keep your bathing suit on!" He said, handing it back to her. 

"Nooo it's cold!"

"You'll be even colder with nothing on!"

"Nu uh-! "

"Fine-!" Clark said, going back into the room. He grabbed the nearest towel, a folded one that was still sitting on the bed. He came back, and immediately wrapped her up in it before she could take her shorts off. 

She took them off anyways- of course, but it was fine now- mostly. 

"Do you want a shirt? At least .." 

"No i'm okay-" She said, and he nodded. "Well …"

He started to say  _ let's go _ but he didn't know if it was okay to take her outside in only a towel. He was worried she'd get sick, for one. But also, who's to say she doesn't take the towel off too? 

"A-are you sure you don't want a shirt? Or- another towel-" he said, moving more towards the door as she shook her head no. He sighed … well, she's just a kid- it's not like anyone will be expecting to see anything right? He looked at her one last time, just to convince himself it was okay …

She looked at him … and blinked, before waving, "hiii!"

"... h-hi-" he opened the door, "you have your shoes on right?" He asked, looking back at her to see her throwing the towel on the floor ...

“Do you want a shirt instead?” He asked, and she looked at him, before shaking her head. Clark started to say something, but the longer he thought about it .. the longer they just sat in silence together, unmoving,  _ unnerving silence. _

“Well you can’t go outside without a shirt on- it’s cold- remember?” 

“... ohhhh you’re right! But I don’t have a shirt ..” She said, and Clark just sighed. This whole time she just- forgot it was cold? He walked over to the room’s dresser, and pulled out one of his own shirts. When he turned to look at her, she was rubbing her eyes. 

“Aw- are you sleepy?” He asked, and she nodded, taking the shirt out of his hands, pulling it over her head. He watched as the fabric fell down onto her form, hiding it, similar to the way a curtain would close after a show. It looked more like a dress, or a misshapen gown on her, but … it was so incredibly cute! The shirt went down to her feet, and exposed her dotted shoulders, she was just- too cute. He picked her up, along with her top, putting it in his pocket … for safekeeping. He didn’t ever remember her having more than one shoe, so he figured they must have left it on the beach. 

“Waiiit! My cookie!” She said, stopping him before he left the room. Clark nodded, and took one from the jar on the counter, handing it to her. When he did, he noticed something on her hand that he could have sworn wasn’t always there. A bracelet, with what looked like buttons on it. 

“What’s this?” Clark asked, poking at her wrist. He opened the door, and she held onto him, seemingly trying to escape the cold as she answered. “It’s my bracelet! I press it and it calls daddy for me-”

“Your dad?” Clark asked, walking along the dirt path with her in his arms, he was taking a longer route to their cabin, he just wanted to stay with her for as long as he could. 

“Mmhmm! I’m supposed to use it when I get lost- or when I get scared .. and he always comes too!” She said, “he said no matter how far away it is- he’ll hear it- … I miss daddy- I wanna go home ..” she said, dropping her cookie on the ground. Clark rubbed her back, he felt bad for her now. She’d come all this way to see Clive, but now she was feeling homesick, and … by the sounds of it, she was left here. 

Clark figured she must have been abandoned by him, the same way Clive was, and for some reason that … really pissed him off. “It’s okay- all you have to do is press that button right?” he asked. 

She gasped, “oh you’re right!” she said, and Clark nodded. The moment that guy shows up, Clark was gonna break his nose. He couldn’t imagine even for a second leaving Luke completely alone, or being so negligent to the point where his kid could just run away like this, to where he would even NEED a security bracelet. 

The bracelet began to beep, and then it stopped. 

“Yay! He answered!” 

“.. mm- how long will it take him to get here?” Clark asked, and Arianna hummed … “probably a day- or two days? Um- maybe two days … hey! Where did my cookie go?” she asked, before yawning, and closing her eyes. 

“It’s okay- i’ll get you another one ..” Clark said, but she was fast asleep before he even got done talking.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Clark … somehow couldn’t find them. He’d gone to their cabin, and gotten Ari to take a bath and put some clothes on. She had on one of Clive’s hoodies, and she’d thrown her shorts in the dryer so she could wear them again. Now he was walking along the dock at night with her asleep on his back, looking at every shop he found, trying to see if maybe everyone went out to eat. 

He didn’t think they’d stay gone all day, maybe they came back when he left, could it be that they were looking for him instead? He sighed, this search was going nowhere, and he really was starting to miss everyone else. 

He could only imagine what Clive was doing, all alone with his most precious companions in life …

He continued walking, he had to find them, but he had no idea where to look- and they weren’t answering their phones!

“Ooh- look!” Ari pointed to a shop that was selling … what looked like ice cream, sparkly ice cream. 

“Um- we’ll get you some tomorrow- I promise-” Clark said, and Ari nodded … she was so well behaved for her age. She hadn’t complained not once, unless it was to say it was cold whenever the wind blew on them. Clark couldn’t get Luke to do anything when he was … smaller than he already was. The terrible twos were especially terrible. 

“Do you see him yet?” Ari asked, and Clark shook his head, “but we’ll find him- so don’t worry- okay?” he asked. 

He felt her put her head down on his shoulder. He knew she was pouting, but there wasn’t much he could do, aside from saying that they’d get there soon. It wasn’t until he heard a sniffle that he decided to stop. 

If there was one thing he couldn’t stand- it was crying. 

“It’s okay- we’ll find him- I promise-” Clark said, moving out of the way of the shuffling crowds, finding his way to a bench. He sat down, letting her down too. She wiped her eyes, “no we won’t- he left me- im never gonna see him again-!”

“I- what makes you say that? Of course you’ll see him again- i’ll make sure of it!” Clark said. She just shook her head, and no matter what he did, it felt like he just couldn’t get her to stop crying. He held onto her, even though he’d already had a kid, he still struggled in these situations. 

“Ari I promise i’ll find him- he has to come back- we’re all a family- plus there's no way i’d leave Luke and my wife behind- they’ll come back …” He said, stroking her head. She made a noise, and went limp. 

She was probably just sleepy … but then she said something. She said, “can I be in the family too?” in a really small voice. As if she had to ask, Clark just smiled. “Sure- but you have to play paintball-” He said, and she smiled, wiping her face. “I wanna play paintball … what’s paintball?” 

“It’s- well- you’ll see-... hey- you’re a witch right? Can’t you use those powers to find out where he is?” Clark asked, figuring maybe she’d feel a little better if she had something to do. She almost instantly came back to life, “ohh right! Okay- I’m gonna find out where they are but- you have to close your eyes!” She said, and so he did, listening to her quietly mumbling what sounded like magic words.

“They’re … over there!” she said, pointing towards another beachside attraction. Off in the distance, there were more lights … it must be some sort of event. 

He nodded, they might actually be over there if there was something going on. “Good job! See? We’ll find them in no time like this-” He said, and she giggled, a beautiful sound, he was so happy to hear it again.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


“And you shouldn’t just leave her alone either! She was crying! What kind of brother are you?!” Clark yelled at Clive, who was barely listening. They actually were where Ari said they were, and so Clark ended up finding them rather quickly. 

“I left her with you- why didn’t you just call?” Clive asked, and Clark … refused to answer. “You- still shouldn’t leave her behind like this! You were gone all day-” 

“..  _ and? _ Why didn’t you just call?” 

“Shut up! Don’t talk back to me!” 

“Yeah okay-” Clive said, in that annoying, sarcastic tone. Clark just sighed, Luke and Brenda had apparently gone into the gift shop again, Clive’s reason for not going inside being that he wanted to smoke without them having to see or smell it. 

“Oh- here you go-” Clark said, handing Clive’s phone back to him. 

“ … oh-” He mumbled, in a really disappointed tone. He looked at Ari, who’d been hiding behind Clark this whole time. 

“... Ari, did you take my phone?” He asked, and she just looked at him …

“Nu-uh ..”

“Oh then how’d he get it?” 

“Oh- I gave it to him!”

“Mmhmm and how did you get it?” 

“Um ... i took it-” She quietly mumbled. 

“Ahh of course ...” 

“Are you mad?”

“Nope- why would I be mad?” Clive said, taking a drag from his cigarette. She stared at him … before pulling on Clark’s hand. “He’s mad- can I go back with you?” she asked, and Clive shook his head. “We’re going home after this- i think-” 

“I hope you had fun-” Clark said, and Clive nodded. “I hope you had fun too-” 

“.. what’s that supposed to mean?” Clark asked, and Clive looked away. “Your pocket ..” 

“My-” Clark looked down, seeing that Ari’s top was hanging out of his pocket, clearly visible. He turned red, and Clive very, very quietly snorted. 

“You know it isn’t like that! I’d never!” 

“Never what?” 

“I- Just- Take care of your sister!” 

“Right- i’ll be sure to never leave her with you again-” Clive said, watching him try to scramble to find an explanation as to why it was in his pocket. Clive knew he wasn’t like that, of course, it was obvious he’d never do anything to hurt anyone, he was just a weirdo when it came to love, and things that reminded him of the ones he loved …

A reminder ..

Clive looked at Ari, she still seemed so sad, which made him feel a little bad since he was supposed to be spending time with her right? And he .. did- sort of just leave her alone ..

“You wanna get anything before we go back home?” He asked, and she looked up, smiling a little as she shook her head. 

“I’m really not mad- it’s okay- you should go get something so you can remember us all- even though we haven’t really .. done much-” Clive said. She shook her head again, “it’s okay-” She came out, shuffling over to him. “I already a-” She stopped mid sentence due to the sound of a loud beep. It sounded like a car alarm, and it was piercing to the ears. 

“W-what is that?!!” Clive asked, and she looked down at her bracelet, pressing one of the buttons. 

“... hi ..” she said. Clark took the opportunity to leave, deciding to go in the shop and leave those two alone. 

A voice came through, Clive listened intently, it was deep, tired sounding, but .. there was noticeable bass to it. A german man, it had to be, but- was it him? 

He was asking her where she was, and- something about a locator. 

“Mmm I’m not sure where this place is- it’s really difficult to pinpoint any specific details about it either- all I know is that it’s next to the beach- and the country I'm in-” 

… “the hell? You talk like that?” Clive asked, and Ari looked up at him. 

“You speak German?” 

“Yeah! you- you talk like an old lady!! I thought you were-” 

“Why didn’t you say so sooner! I’ve been making a fool of myself! You probably thought I was stupid didn’t you? Well- I’m much smarter than you could ever imagine!” She yelled at him, all in German. 

Clive just sighed … that doesn’t explain how she almost passed out blowing up a beach ball, but she is just a kid … 

“Oh- no- that’s him I’m talking to! … yeah i found him!” She said, holding the bracelet up to her ear. “He looks just like you! …”

“Is that him?” Clive asked, and Ari nodded, holding out her wrist. Clive … had no idea what to say, He got down, mostly because he was absolutely terrified right now, and his legs felt a little weak, but also so that Ari wouldn’t have to hold her arm up so high … because it’d be impossible. 

“Uh- hello?” 

“... What’s with that tone? You mad at me or something?” The guy asked, but- Clive could tell it was a genuine question. It was the first time they were speaking to each other, and he could only imagine what the other had been thinking the response would be, seeing the loved one who abandoned you all those years ago. It was probably all he could think to say-  _ are you mad at me? _

“...” Clive started to say something, but he couldn’t, the words just wouldn’t come out. Ari looked at him, and reached up to his head, patting him. “Don’t cry! I’m sorry!” she said, and Clive shook his head. He was trembling, he wished his body wasn’t like this, this shouldn’t even be a scary moment, but he’d never felt anything like this. 

He couldn’t get up, he couldn’t move, he couldn’t speak, so he just sat down on the ground, and put his head in his hands, trying to will-power it all away. 

It didn’t work. 

“What happened?” the voice asked, and Ari shook her head. “Um … i’ll see you when you get here- bye! I love you!” she said, pressing a button on her bracelet. She shuffled forward, and wrapped her arms around him, unsure of what was going on. Clive got up almost immediately, trying to just play it off, “don’t tell anyone I was crying ..” he mumbled, and she smiled, letting him dry his face off. 

“It’s okay- I won’t …” She said. 


	46. my misshapen memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> terms to come with

Luke laid still in bed, in between Clive and Ari, who were both asleep. He was just up, thinking, thinking about life, and the fact that they only had a few more days left to tell his parents he was pregnant. So far they hadn’t even thought about how they were going to do it, and worst of all, ever since yesterday, Clive had been oddly quiet. 

Today was just another day on the beach, they went and Clive finally admitted to being afraid of the ocean, so Luke offered to help. The two of them held hands as they walked towards the water, Luke remembered the way Clive shook when the tide brushed across his feet. 

The way he trembled as the water pooled up to his ankles, and he could feel sand and tiny fish brushing across his legs. 

The way he calmed down finally, and was able to stand in the water on his own after a while, and the way he freaked out and ran back to the shore when Luke found a jellyfish. 

It was a good day, a fun day. That memory would be something Luke would hold close to his heart forever, but it was tainted. It was tainted by the look on Clive’s face, a distant, thoughtful stare that could only mean he was either not present for any of it, or he was so terrified that he checked out during the whole exchange. 

Luke wanted to know, what was he thinking? He was tired of being left in the dark, he wanted to help, wanted to be a good boyfriend, but he didn’t know how to ask …

He tensed, Clive sat up in bed, rubbing his face as he leaned back against the headboard. Even now he was awake, staring off into the distance, looking at the moon through the old cabin’s windows. Luke stared at him, he wanted to know what Clive was thinking … so he reached out, and grabbed his hand, holding it as he stared up at his face. When Clive turned to look at him, he could see the worry, and he knew immediately that Luke was worried about him. 

“... sorry” Clive whispered, laying back down. He pulled Luke close, “i was just- thinking- it woke me up an hour ago and I can’t get it off my mind ..” He said, stroking Luke’s hair. The air was calm, for once, the two of them felt safe, and comfortable fully knowing that they were about to have a serious conversation. It felt like for once, they could handle something life threw at them. 

So Luke nodded, and Clive continued. “It was about my dad- and .. how- when I get scared- I can’t move my body-” He paused for a second, wanting to be as precise in his explanation. Luke was quiet, letting him take all the time he needed to let his next words out. 

“Dahlia tells me- whenever I talk to her- that everything about who we are is just because of the way we were born, or the way we were raised, or something, both of those things make up everything about a person, so it’s just- what is it about my genes- or the way I was raised that makes me like this? Why am I so …” He struggled to find his words, burying his head in Luke’s hair. “Why do I feel so messed up? Why can’t I do the things everyone else can do? Why can’t I feel happy without also feeling so- bad- all the time? And why- why does my body do that whenever i’m scared?” 

He sighed, “it happened- I … I had a chance to talk to him- my dad- and I ended up dropping to the ground, I couldn’t say a word- but it made me think … what was I so afraid of?” Clive said. “I understand myself enough to know that just being nervous doesn’t make me weak- I can still function normally before tests- or- when I was talking to girls and i’d get scared- none of that ever made me lose feeling in my body- but this- I was- crying …” 

Luke looked up at Clive, and he turned red, looking away. “... and that made me think-” He continued. “What was I afraid of? Maybe I was afraid of what he might say to me if he could see me- and the way I live- maybe I was afraid of him not loving me at all- that maybe he got rid of me because he never wanted me in the first place. Maybe I was afraid he would yell at me- or maybe ..” Clive looked at Luke, “i thought- for a second that … maybe i’m afraid of him … maybe it’s him- that scared me- but for a reason that I can’t remember.” He said, and Luke looked down. 

He had no idea what to say .. so he didn’t say anything, and Clive calmed down a little, completely understanding the silent response. 

“But then I had to think- why would he scare me? Was it something he did? Something he said? Or is this all just in my head? And It made me think about the way I ended up- I thought maybe I could figure it out if I went backwards- like … I have these scars on my face- because I got in a fight. I’m tall because my dad is tall- and I sort of- Inherited his name- I can explain things like that- and most other people could just by looking at me- so then- if I wanted to know- why it is I like guys- or- why I couldn’t bring myself to admit that i do- why did it take someone that I hate feeling me up for me to admit it? And why … I got so scared at the sound of my dad’s voice, why even thinking about it now makes my nerves jump- was I just nervous? Or is there something- that can explain it?” Clive said. 

Luke … looked down, and sighed, “i- i think- for some people at least- that who you’re attracted to doesn’t say anything about you other than that-” 

“... yeah- but sometimes people get messed up- like … Dahlia likes big guys cause her dad is mean to her or something- and i like people who are smaller than me because .. i think they’re .. comforting? so .. i dunno- this is all junk dahlia said to me and i think she was right-"

“..” Luke shrugged. “I just like cute stuff- and you’re cute ..” He smiled, and Clive let out a sigh. “ I know i probably shouldn't say this but it doesn't have anything to do with me being rich or something like that right? I just- think about it sometimes and it- bothers me ..” 

“... I think you only said that because you’re used to people like that being around you" Luke said, trying to think about it a little more. This was a weird question to ask- how should he answer? "But I promise that's not it” Luke kissed his forehead, and Clive smiled. “I like that you're always trying to look out for me- you're so small but you try so hard”

“Of course I do- are you not trying~?” Luke asked, getting an amused chuckle after a few more seconds. Clive buried his face in Luke's hair. The boy smiled, happy to be embraced in certainty again. "I'm doing the best I can .." Clive said, "i promise- but- uh... I don’t think my dad cares about me- or Ari-” Clive said, “I think that maybe he did something to me- and it really messed me up- so much that I cant even remember what happened- but I’m not even sure if that’s true- the only thing i have as proof is the way i froze- but my body … is stupid- and it’s always doing stuff like that ..” He said, and Luke smiled, “yeah. It is ..” 

“I’m just scared that i’m right- and when I meet him … something bad ..” Clive really didn't even wanna entertain the thought by saying it out loud. He didn't want it to come true. More than anything, he wanted this all to just end happy for once.

“It’s okay-” Luke said, “it’s not like you know him anymore- he’s a stranger now- so you’ll just have to get to know him again … I think you’re just scared of him because of that- because you don’t know what to expect- like being scared of the dark- you know?” 

“.. it is kinda dark in here-” 

Luke nodded, “it is ..” 

The two were quiet … “Luke?”

“Mm?”

“Do you think your parents are still awake?” 

Luke looked at him, and Clive looked away, “i-it’s just- i wanna get it over with- you know?” He said, nervously scratching at his face. “We can tell them first thing in the morning-” Luke said, leaning up to Clive’s face. He kissed his cheek, and wrapped his arms around his shoulder, pressing his heart to his face. “Now sleep ..”

“..” Clive wrapped his arms around him, and tried not to think about the fact that Luke really was just- shoving his chest at him again ..

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


They were quiet. The conversation was a littleThe two families were relaxing up in the mountain. Brenda supposedly went out exploring and found a fire pit, so Clark rolled a couple of nearby logs over and they decided to hang out there today. 

Which meant Clark made Clive accompany him on his firewood hunting journey. No axe this time, Clive held a bunch of sticks that Clark kept  _ somehow  _ walking away and finding. He was pretty sure the man was breaking them off of the trees, with or without tools. 

But that was to be expected for him. 

The two walked in silence, one foot crunching on leaves after another. Clive wore his sweater over his clothes despite the heat, he was hoping maybe it'd give him some strength- and so far it was working. They'd come pretty deep in the woods by now, and it wasn't getting any later in the day. 

Clive looked up … he'd always sort of thought Clark was a good dad. He was weird, but he cared about Luke, even if it was annoying sometimes. So what would he think … if he knew … 

"Uh-" Clive started to say something so Clark turned to look at him, as he broke a branch in half. The snap was so loud that Clive … started to regret not putting that condom on. 

"So- so .. like- do you like babies?" 

… fuck. He chickened out, that's not at all what he meant to say. Clark hummed, "squishy- loud little things- but yes I like babies.. Why- are you pregnant?" He laughed, and Clive stopped completely. He could feel his hands losing their grip, if he didn't clarify now then he might not get a chance to do it while his body still functions. He looked away, "Ah- no I was just asking-"

"How come?" 

"... I- was- uh-" he cleared his throat. Just say it! Be fearless! 

"I was thinking about having one-" 

"... I see." Clark said. After that, he started walking off, completely ignoring Clive and the surrounding wood. Clive followed behind him, the sound of shuffling wood and mismatched footsteps like static in his mind. "Babies are a lot of hard work- you know?" 

".. ah- yeah- i know- but when i'm done With school i'll have plenty of time to take care of it-" 

"Babies. Are a lot. Of hard work." Clark said, stopping their walk. "I knew something was wrong- Luke started to smell different- and his mood is slightly off- i knew from the moment I saw you two that this had happened- and I'm extremely annoyed that it took you four days to finally man up and tell me." He said. 

Clive just stood there. He didn't know what to do. He sighed, "yeah- i just- i know he's your entire world and I didn't know how you'd feel-"

"I'm mad." 

"... Well … Technically I told you this was going to happen from the start-" 

"Clive-"

"Yea?"

"Shut up-"

"O .. Kay."

"You didn't think for a second that it was too early?! What if his body can't take it? What if he dies?" Clark hissed. "I can't believe it took you so long to tell me something like this! I can't believe Luke didn't tell me! This is absolutely not okay!" 

"I- i'm sorry- but there's nothing I can do now so what's the point in being mad about it?" 

"You are talking about my  **_CHILD_ ** -" Clark yelled at him, and Clive flinched, moving back a little. "Dont say 'what's the point in getting mad about it' Just because you don't wanna deal with the consequences! You don't know WHAT could happen! If I break your legs and leave you in a ditch are you not going to worry about it because there's nothing you can do??" 

"I-"

"So don't talk like that when it comes to Luke- for all you know he might be scared to death too and you're just trying to weasel your way out of confronting just what it is you've done-" Clark sighed, "God help you if that's the attitude you have when it's born-" 

"I- care about Luke! I just-" Clive wanted to explain, because Clark was wrong! Right? "That wasn't what I meant- I'm just saying that the only thing we can do is just-" he stopped, why bother? He's going to die here- but it would have been a life worth living. "I'm sorry-" were his last words.

"... I know you care- and I know you mean well- but you need to start being more careful-" Clark said, he looked down … "the world is a dangerous place- and that's no attitude to have- i mean- just as soon as you left a man was reported to have been stabbed to death at the local bar-" 

"what?" Clive dropped the wood, and Clark looked down … 

"What are you doing? Don't tell me there was another snail-" 

"... Did- the guy who got stabbed- was he-" 

".. huh? Oh- it was Cliff- sadly- that old family friend of mine. But at least the man was mostly alone- we took in his daughter after it happened- didn't even know he had one .." 

"..." 

"Clive are you okay? Your face is-" 

"I'm- i'm alright-i just-" 

"Did that scare you?"

".. y-yeah- i was- there that night- that's horrible-" Clive said. Clark looked at him as he picked up everything he'd dropped. The way his hands were shaking. "Sorry- i didn't mean to yell just then- and I didn't mean to freak you out just now- i just- when it comes to Luke- you're right- he's my world- so please- understand that in a few seconds when i punch you in the face- it's out of love-" 

".."

"I'm kidding- but i'm still mad- and you're going to be the one to tell Brenda-" 

".. right-" Clive said, standing up with all of the wood in his arms. Clark gave him a nod, "so how did it happen?" He asked, and Clive cringed. "Ew- why do you wanna know?" 

"I have a right don't I?"

"Absolutely not- the only thing i'll tell you is that it was because of Valentine's day-"

"I see- and when did you find out?" 

".. Luke told me a little bit afterwards … but it's kind of a funny story- the test was actually negative but he didn't know how to read it- so he thought it was positive- then after that we felt like it was okay to just … not- use protection-" 

"I can't believe you-"

"Don't be mad! I'm sorry- but this isn't even the first time this has happened i'm always getting people pregnant-"

"You what?"

"Huh? I didn't say anything- it's getting dark let's go-" 

"I- you- ugh-" 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


"Nooooo!!" Brenda yelled, hanging onto Luke. "you're too young! I won't let you!" She said, suffocating Luke in a hug. The boy seemed alright, like he was used to it or something, gently patting his mom on the back as Clive wondered if maybe … just maybe … he should have said he was pregnant instead. The fire burned bright as Clive listened to whatever Ari was saying. Things were calm, they were nice- 

"Cwive .." Ari said, staring deeply at the fire. 

"Yeah?" 

"... i gotta go back home soon .." she said, and Clive nodded. "Yeah" 

"But I don't wanna leave" She pouted, "i like it here-" she said, looking over at Luke. "That lady and that man are nice to me- and I think the short one is nice too- he taught me how to roast marshmallows-" She smiled. "i like being with daddy too but It's scary being all by myself in that house- the floors make weird noises and it's always dark-" she mumbled. "And i like having a brother- even if you're mean to me .." 

".. sorry- I don't mean to be mean- i'm just like this .." Clive said, "but you can always come back to visit- you know?" 

".. but I wanna stay .." Ari pouted. Clive could see tears in her eyes, and for a second he struggled to figure out what to do. 

".. hey .. it'll be okay- uh- whenever I get sad- or feel like i have nowhere to go- i just hold onto this sweater- it was my mom's- and whenever i have it i feel like everything is gonna be okay-" He said, pulling it off. "It's getting kinda small, i'll stretch it out if I keep it- so you can have it. I think her spirit is attached to it- so she can protect you wherever you go- sounds nice right?" Clive asked, and Ari gasped. She took the sweater- and looked at it, "the spiritual energy on this is insane!" She said, and Clive snorted. "you're such a nerd-"

"No really! I'm surprised you've never seen her ghost! I can really have it? You're giving this to me?"

"Yeah- …  _ i'm getting too old to be crying for my mom all the time _ .." he mumbled to himself. "Maybe she can even help you get in contact with some spirits- then you won't be alone anymore-"

"That sounds scary .."

"Sorry- i thought you were into that stuff" 

"I like stars! Ghosts are scary- but mommy's ghost is nice-" 

"I see-" Clive said, looking up to see Brenda there, holding Luke in her arms. He looked really tired, probably from being handled like that-

"Get up" she said, so Clive stood, halfway expecting to be punched in the stomach. The fire crackled on, lighting up the side of his face, light bouncing off the beads of nervous sweat stuck to his brow. She wrapped her arm around him, and said nothing, giving him a hard pat on the back. She didn’t say anything, but he could tell what she meant. 

“You two are moving so fast- i’m happy for you- but i can’t say i’m not worried- I just- wish you the best- please be careful-” she said. Luke nodded, “we were- the whole thing was kind of my fault-” He said. 

“Not really-” Clive said, and Luke gently kicked at him. “She said she wanted to steal it when it was born-” he warned him, and Brenda huffed, “I did not! I said i’m  _ going  _ to steal it-” 

Clive smiled, “you can just come visit- it’s not like we’re that far apart-” 

“But you’re moving after highschool aren’t you? I won’t know where you’ll be or- what if your college is farther away?” 

“It’ll be fine- we’ll come visit you then-”

“You better!” she said, letting him go. Luke tried to wiggle out of her arms, but she held onto him tight, “please see a doctor soon- and if you need any help call us- we’re here for you- but consider waiting a little longer until you think about making any siblings alright?” 

“Of course! Now let me go please?” Luke asked, but Brenda just walked off with him, “nooo- you’re gonna leave again tomorrow- don’t you wanna spend some more time with me?” She asked, and Luke almost instantly caved into her. 

The two walked off again, so Clive sat back down, wondering how he somehow ended up getting out of trouble again. He felt a little cold without that sweater, but …

Ari had already put it on- and it was so big on her. It’d probably be able to keep her warmer than it could him. 

“Hey-” Ari tugged at Clive’s sleeve, and he looked down at her. “ is that boy gonna have a baby?” She asked, overflowing with curiosity. 

“... yea-” Clive said. “Hopefully-” 

“But where is it gonna come out?” 

“Out of his butt- that’s where all babies come from-” He said, smiling as she audibly cringed at the idea.

“Ew- maybe that’s where you came from but not me ..” 

Clive quietly snorted, “ Didn’t we come from the same place?”

“Apparently not!” 

He sighed, and looked up. It was late enough to where he could see the beginnings of stars in the sky, yet there was a hint of blue daylight in it.

It made the sky look kind of pretty, and it was a nice distraction …

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Luke watched Clive as he sat in the bathroom at the edge of the tub. He’d been there for hours now, and Luke was worried, but he had no idea what to say. Ever since he got back from the woods he’d been weird, he’d been quiet, and he never went to bed. Even after Luke fell asleep, he kept waking up to see that Clive was just staring out the window. 

Luke shifted a little, scooting over in the bed to give himself a better look. Clive just had his head down, like he was thinking about something. It must really be bothering him to have him up so late. 

And then suddenly- he got up, and turned the bathroom light off. He came out, shutting the door behind himself as he walked around the room for a second. Luke closed his eyes, but he could hear the sound of clothes being moved around, and the familiar clink of belt buckles. He looked, seeing that Clive was taking the knife from his pocket. The knife he seemed to love so much. He looked at it, and opened it. The blade flicked up, and Clive stood, staring at it … he closed it, and walked over to the window. 

Luke wondered what he was going to do, hearing the window slide open. He was shocked when Clive threw it out, the weapon hit the ground with a small, yet heavy little noise, and he shut the window again, going back towards the bed. He sat, but didn’t lay down, continuing to stare out the window with that look on his face.

... 

And that was all he did.

Luke waited, and waited, and waited for him to lay back down and sleep, but he didn’t move. Sometimes it didn’t even look like he was breathing, he just sat there. It wasn’t until Ari almost rolled off of the bed that he even turned around to look at the two, moving her back where she was. He looked over at Luke, and the boy closed his eyes again … it was quiet. He opened them, and flinched, seeing that Clive was still looking at him. 

“... don’t worry about it-” He said, and Luke gave him a hesitant nod. He wanted to ask, but he knew that if Clive was telling him not to worry. He probably wasn’t ready to talk about it yet. He did open his arms though, letting the other come sinking back into his embrace. Clive finally laid back down, feeling the boy stroking his head. It was nice …

“Did you give Ari your sweater?” Luke asked, and Clive … nodded. 

“.. can I make you a new one? I always wanted to learn how to crochet-” 

Another nod.

Luke continued stroking his head, stopping for a moment as Clive shifted to put his arms around him. 

“.. what color do you want it to be?” He asked, and Clive shrugged.

“Hm- is your favorite color still red?”

“..” Clive hummed, “I want it to be a color you like-” He said, “that’s all that matters-” He said, and Luke nodded. “I like blue- is that okay?”

Clive nodded. “I like blue too .. i think.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lmao its the end so now i actually gotta think about stuff  
> sometimes i feel like i should use this end box to explain why certain things happen  
> like Clive saying he "thinks" he likes blue- since he never had a favorite color and he just picked red because Luke had on a red hairclip at the time- now he's saying blue because Luke said blue- i feel like its all obvious but lol


	47. A problem

He’d been packing his bag in pure silence. Luke watched him from the bathroom, brushing his teeth as Clive put all of his clothes in his bag. He looked like a different person without that sweater on, Luke was honestly … kind of shocked to hear that he was giving it up so easily. 

Something wasn’t right- why would he just give away something he seemed to cling to so heavily? The only answer Luke could come up with was that … he didn’t need it anymore. 

But why didn’t he need it anymore?

“You’re staring-” Clive said, getting up from the floor. He zipped up a bag, and gently tossed it onto the bed, looking through all of the drawers one last time to make sure he didn’t end up leaving something important behind. “Oh-” Luke said, spitting out his toothpaste into the sink. Clive was already dressed, meanwhile Luke was in his underwear. “I was just- um-”

“Don’t worry- i’m okay-” Clive cut him off, and Luke smiled, somewhat amused that Clive could tell what he was thinking. “You’re just being so quiet-” He said, and Clive looked over at the window for a split second before looking away, almost as if he promised himself he’d never even so much as think about it. “And you never get up before I do! And- your sweater-” 

Clive shrugged, “i don’t want it anymore … and- i’m kind of not ready to go home yet-” he said, getting a little smile from Luke, “im happy you were having fun! But you know we can’t stay forever …”

“... we could-” Clive said, and Luke curiously tilted his head. Clive continued, “i mean we can go anywhere right? I kind of hate that school- and that whole city- i think it’d be nice to go somewhere else- maybe somewhere kind of quiet- you know?”

“.. um-” Luke thought about it for a second, “but what about all of our friends?” The boy asked. Flora, Lili, all of the cheerleaders, what was he supposed to do in a new place with all new people? He’d be alone again-

“We can always make new ones- everyone loves you.” Clive said, “and it’ll only be this one time too- so you’ll never have to worry about leaving again if you don’t want to-”

“But- then i’d have to switch schools- and my parents paid so much for me to go there-”

“Well then what about after you graduate?”

“But-” Luke looked down, he didn’t wanna leave, but it seemed like Clive really thought about this alot. He most likely had an answer for every and anything, he was determined to leave town and go somewhere secluded. 

He’s throwing things out, getting rid of his possessions, and running away- 

“Why are you acting like that?” Luke asked, a little upset suddenly. “You never tell me when something is wrong- but i can tell- you know? Why don’t you just tell me?” 

“I can’t-” Clive said, for once, a simple answer, and he really meant it. His tone was flat, he was void for a moment, staring blankly at the floor before turning his head to the side. “Pick anywhere- but- we have to go- we don’t have to stay gone if you don’t want to- but we have to go-” 

“You can- you can tell me anything!”

“No i can’t-”

“Yes you can!!” 

“I-” Clive seemed really- really upset for a second- but eventually he caved, and Luke listened as he seemed to gather his thoughts. “Fine-”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Luke held onto Ari’s hand, crossing the road with her on their way inside the airport. She had on a very cute sundress, and Luke had on his own uniform since he’d be returning to school, and students were required to wear their uniforms to be on campus.

His skirt seemed to be getting shorter nowadays, at first he thought maybe  _ someone _ had been messing with his clothes, but no- it seemed he has just been growing this entire time, and now was the only moment that he noticed since he’d been tuning out the world around him.. 

Ari squeezed his hand, “heyy! Are you okay? Hellooooo~?” She asked, waving her hand in front of Luke’s face. The boy stopped, and caught himself back in reality. He looked down at her, and immediately spoke, “i’m okay- i- uh-” He let out a stressed noise, “im sorry- i’m not feeling too well this morning- i might be a little sick- i’m just-” Luke put a hand over his mouth- and Ari moved closer, putting her hand on his back. “Oh no- you’re sick!” 

“I- i’m okay-” Luke said, “we have to hurry or we’ll miss the plane-” he pointed, giving her an optimistic smile as he held onto her hand. She followed behind him, into the airport, seeing that Clark and Brenda were already there waiting. Brenda seemed happy to see the two, but immediately noticed the lack of someone else. 

She started to speak on it, but Luke gave her a look that told her everything she needed to know. He was gone, and it wasn’t for any pleasant reasons. Something was wrong. 

“What’s wrong?” She asked, kneeling down to the boy, who for the first time in his life had to resist the comfort of his mom’s warm hugs. “N-nothing- he’s just throwing some stuff away- i’m gonna wait for him-”

“All by yourself?” Clark asked, and Luke nodded, “i’m going back to the cabin- I just didn’t want Ari to walk by herself-”

“Well i don’t want  _ you _ walking by _ yourself _ \- it’s unsafe and you .. you know-” He blushed a little- “you have to be more careful now-”

“D-dad!!! i’ll be okay” Luke covered his face, completely embarrassed, and Brenda shook her head at the two. “Well- we’ll wait up for as long as we can- but if he doesn’t show then you’re getting on the plane with us-”

“B-but my stuff is in the cabin-!”

“Hm-” She said, her way of letting Luke know it wasn’t up for debate. They weren’t leaving him here on his own, either he left with them or Clive returned, or he could tell them what was going on and end the situation …

So of course, he just stood there, staring down at his school’s uniform, for the first time noticing how dull it was. Yet the school sure as hell didn’t feel that way- it kind of pissed him off a little, of all the things that happened, you’d think the school’s colors were lime green and hot pink.

He jumped a little when his phone buzzed. His parents gave him a look as he pulled it out of his jacket pocket. He pulled it out, and checked it, seeing that it was from … Flora? She was asking how the trip was going, so he texted her back. 

The two had been talking on and off this entire trip, sharing vacation experiences. Flora told him a really nice story about her feeling protected being cuddled up next to her sister one afternoon, it was such a cute story, made him happy to hear that they were still together. 

It made him optimistic about their future. 

Their conversation was very brief, and it ended when Luke felt a hand flick the back of his head. He turned to see Clive, as normal as ever, “You ready?”

“... I thought- I thought you were throwing something away-” Luke said, giving him a terrified look of confusion. Clive just nodded, “Yea- then i decided to just go ahead and grab our stuff-”

“Oh- well-” He looked at Clark, who stared back at the two, finally sensing that something was wrong. He looked at Brenda, who gave him a subtle shrug, and turned a little towards the security area. “It was- nice seeing you two again-” He put his hand on Luke’s head, “looks like your head hasn’t gotten any bigger- that’s good-” 

“Dad!!” Luke smacked his hand out of the way, and Clive snorted, “it used to be smaller than that?” He asked. 

“Clive!!” Luke glared at him, blushing as his dad chuckled. “I love you- bye-” 

“Bye..” Luke said, waving them off. Ari watched them both go, standing still for a second. The two of them watched as their parents left, taking Ari with them. Luke looked away from Clive, “I thought you were throwing something away ..” He mumbled, and Clive was quiet …

“I'm not leaving you.” He said after a short while, and Luke put a hand over his mouth, unable to really even process the situation. They were quiet, they wouldn’t be boarding for another twenty minutes, but sitting here for that long could be borderline deadly. 

“Is this all of our stuff?” Luke asked, maybe he could just act like it wasn’t happening. Clive nodded, “it should be- i checked the room over a few times before I left and I made sure to grab your charger-” Clive said, pulling the cord out of his pocket. Luke reached out and took it from him, “oh- i didn’t even know I left it-” He said, staring down at it. Clive just hummed, “well at least you didn’t go with them ..”

“Yeah … hey-” Luke looked up at the other, “do you remember seeing any of my hair pins?” He asked, looking down at the suitcases. Clive shrugged, “don’t you always put them in the little part?” He asked, bending down. He unzipped it, and Luke peered inside, taking out a bright purple one. He pushed his hair out of his face, and clipped it into position, zipping the bag back up. “I guess this is everything then …” He said. 

“Yeah …” 

“...” Luke sighed, “this- isn’t gonna work like this-” He said, and Clive nodded. Luke put his hand on the bag … “i think I need a break-” He said, and Clive gave him a second nod, pausing for a second before he quietly asked, “you wanna go home on your own?” 

“... I- I don’t want you to go away or anything-” Luke said, and Clive smiled, “I know- i just- you’ll probably feel better about it if you’re by yourself- so you can think-”

“But I need you with me-” Luke said, “you said we can be alone together didn’t you?” 

“I did?”

“It was a long time ago ... but you said it- and it made me happy …”

“... Luke I-” Clive started to say something, before a loud voice cut him off. 

**_Now boarding flight 256. Now boarding-_ **

“I guess that’s us-” He said, and Luke nodded, starting to walk off ahead of the other. 

“... he never did come to get her …” Clive said, and Luke shook his head in disappointment. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


“And then … uh- wait I don’t remember the rest-” Dez said, “It’s crazy how much stuff you can do in a day without feeling like you did anything at all- fuck- what happened next?” He struggled to remember, before giving up. “... what were we talking about?” he asked. 

“You were talking to yourself-” Clive said, and Dez nodded, “yea that makes sense- so what’s this about? Why are you two acting like it went in the wrong hole or something?” 

“What?” Luke asked, and Dez squinted. “You heard me-”

The three of them were loitering in the halls like everyone else. In line to get their caps and gowns. Next was a graduation practice, and then the real thing. An incredibly boring procedure, but it did hold a little meaning- even if they’d never admit it.

“None of your business ..” Luke said, and Clive reiterated, “it’s really personal ..”

“Oh- did you two break up or something?” Dez asked, and Luke crossed his arms. Clive answered, “not really ..”

“Ah …”

“What about you and Emmy?” Clive asked, and Dez smiled, “ There’s this guy she used to crush on- he’s been talking to her a lot lately … a lot-”

“Are you jealous?” Luke asked, and Dez looked down at him. “Aw- it’s cute that you think that way ..” he said. “No- it’s just that she’s been complaining about him to me- since he was hitting on her and it made her mad- the guy basically cucked himself- she tells me everything now- it’s nice- and she’s so cute! Just the other day-”

“Ahh! Keep- your stories to yourself-” Luke covered his ears, and Dez looked at Clive, “you wanna hear it?” He asked, “it’s funny-” 

“... sure-” Clive said, and his much too hyper friend seemed excited to tell him. “We were coming back to school from being at the beach- and-”

“You went to the beach too?” Clive asked, and Dez nodded, “Yeah! And she picked up a bunch of shells so she could make a necklace. She found this big one- it was all still put together and stuff- so she put it on the counter and walked away, and when she came back it opened-”

“... it what?” Clive asked, and Dez sighed, pulling out his phone. “Like this-” he said, showing him a picture of it that he took …

“... what the fuck- that’s what sea shells used to be?” 

“Yup-” Dez said, showing Luke the picture since the boy started to curiously peek his head out from the side. He cringed, and looked away, getting a chuckle from the other. “You two are so cute ..” he said, and the pair looked at eachother, not even needing to say anything to know what the other was thinking. 

“This guy ..”

  
  


Clive sighed, looking over at the line, they’d gotten really close, he was almost up next. “Where is she anyways?” 

“Probably still at home beating the shells in with a hammer …”

“Oh-” 

Luke stared up at the two … he raised his hand up, holding onto Clive’s as the line moved, and Dez was handed a stupid looking black cap and robe. He moved to the side, and turned the cap upside down to see how they wrote his name. 

"Hey- they actually put Dez .." he said, "with the Z and everything-" 

"Really? Mine says … Clive … and that's it" 

"No last name?"

"Did they put yours?"

".. yeah but it's the wrong one- not the one I like .." he said, looking over at Luke, who seemed extremely disappointed seeing his own name. "What's with that face? Did they spell it wrong?" He asked, snapping the boy from his trance. Luke sighed, "no- it's nothing-" he said, and Clive hummed. "They put  _ that  _ name didn't they?"

"Mhm"

"It's not too late to get it changed-" he said, holding his hand out. Luke handed him the cap, for some reason feeling his heart throb in his chest when he did. He pulled away once Clive had it, and walked behind the two on their way back to their dorms. They'd be dropping Luke off at class, and then coming to get him later, like they used to. 

Luke was a little bit bummed, but a little relieved he wouldn't have classes with Clive- anymore. He'd miss it though, waking him up out of his sleep by flicking rubber bands at him. Getting sent out for talking to each other, drawing stuff together in art class, cheating together in english. He smiled … but then he thought about what Clive- told him, and his smile went away. 

This can't be how they have to live the rest of their lives. 

"So what did you two do over the break?" Dez asked, and Luke listened carefully to the answer Clive- gave. "We went camping- sorta- like most things it got ruined but it was still fun- there was a beach and stuff- Luke wore a cute one piece-"

"Don't tell him that!" Luke whined, and Clive snickered quietly, hearing Dez gasp at the thought. "I thought Luke would be more of a shorts and tank top kind of person- Please! Tell me you took pictures!"

"Sorry~"

"Nooo!"

Luke turned red, "don't you have a girlfriend? Wouldn't she be mad about you trying to get pictures of me in my bathing suit!?"

"Hmm … you two could pose together- you've got similar body types .."

"I- how could you even think to say that?!"

"Whaaat~? It's not that weird- nobody would question it if we were all at the beach taking the picture together-"

"Because that's different! You'd be in it too!"

"So if I'm in this one it's a yes?"

"No that's even worse!!"

"I don't know what you want from me~" Dez playfully cried, "I don't get it-"

"Ugh …  _ how am I related to you _ ." He mumbled, hearing a little chuckle from Dez. "You can't say we're not alike- what if I told you I had a bunch of pictures of Clive- with his tits out-"

"My what-" Clive looked at him, and Luke turned red. "I don't even look all that much! You two make it seem like I'm as bad as you are!" 

"Oh well in that case I guess you don't want this" Dez said, holding up a picture. It looked like something from an instant print camera.

"..." Clive reached out, quickly attempting to take it from him. "Why do you have something like that?!" He yelled, and Dez moved his hand away. "That's a secret I have to take to the grave- but maybe for a kiss I'll tell you~" 

"Y-you're being- a lot more weird than usual today …" Clive said, and Dez shrugged. With a wave of his hand, the picture disappeared, and Luke snapped out of his trance, looking around the room. They were finally leaving this big open space, going into the hallways.

"Am I?" Dez asked, "I guess I just missed you~" 

"Hm …" Luke thought about that for a second as the two continued. "Well you could have called-" Clive mumbled, getting a nod. "I'll remember that- so … Luke I heard you got knocked up-"

Luke choked, "I- what?! Who told you?!"

"Come on- the number one rule about highschool is once someone knows something- EVERYONE will eventually know." 

"But I- I only told  _ one  _ friend!" 

"That's all it takes- be careful~ popular kids like you can't afford a bad reputation- and we won't be here to protect you-" Dez said. Clive nodded, "yeah .. people here really aren't your friends-" he said, and Dez grabbed onto his hand. "But of course we're different- you can always rely on mommy and daddy-"

"God- especially him-" Clive- said, "if you ever need help finding out  _ anything _ \- just ask Dez- one way or another he'll figure it out .."

"Well- what if I wanted to know  _ your  _ secrets?" Luke asked Clive, who shrugged. "He might tell you … but there's probably gonna be a price or something-" 

".. speaking of- price- uh- did you know there was a graduation fee?" 

".. oh- yeah-" Clive said, "they just charge you for using the school's stuff- like art supplies- and the practice car in drivers ed- some classes you also have to pay for- like theatre-" 

"... yeah … you'll help me out with all of that- right? I thought it was just a flat tuition fee- I didn't know the books and everything under the sun would be tagged on and-"

"Calm down- of course I'll help- I wish you'd ask more often .."

"Mm-" he nodded, mumbling a thank you as he wrapped his arms around Clive, all but being dragged by him. 

Luke stared at them … and then he decided to hang onto Clive too, gasping as he was picked up with one arm, and carried on Clive's hip like a little kid.

"I also got to meet my sister-" Clive said, and Dez nearly slipped and fell. It took him a second, but when he regained his balance, he seemed shocked. 

"... What does she look like?"

"Why is that the FIRST thing you say?"

"It was the first thing that came to mind!" Dez said, "oh man- you have a sister?" 

"Half sister-"

"You're so Lucky! Why do you get literally  _ Everything _ -" 

"... You wanna see a picture of her mom?"

"Duh-"

"Clive .." Luke said, and Clive smiled, pulling out his phone. "It's not like that Luke I swear-" he said, at least it sounded genuine. Dez basically had his face shoved in the other's shoulder so that he could see. 

"This is her- her name's Ari and she likes witchcraft … I think- or astrology- supernatural stuff basically …" Clive said, swiping a few times through the pictures he took.

Which

Luke had no idea he took any pictures at all, how sneaky ..

"And this is her mom-"

"... Damn .."

"Right?"

" … she is pretty .." Luke had to admit. Clive nodded, "she's nice too- Ari told me some stories about her and she sounded like a really good person- like they love each other a lot- which is confusing because .. she's gone- like- poof .." Clive said. "I don't think she'd just leave but she can't be dead …" 

"Sounds like a conspiracy- I'll find out whatever I can!" Dez said, taking Clive's phone. He sent himself the images, and handed it back, "leave it to me!" He said, and just like that he was gone …

"... He … whatever.." Clive held onto Luke, who had nothing to say about the situation either. Maybe he'd be able to find something useful- if he was able to find Clive's dad- maybe he could find this lady too … even though there wasn't really a reason to. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Emmy stared up at the ceiling, unable to really think all that clearly. She kept looking over at the box of broken shells, and feeling bad for even thinking she'd be able to make some nice, untainted memories. 

She couldn't stop thinking about the way it moved, the way it opened and closed, the way it looked so slimy and gross and-

"Emmy?"

"AAa- d-don't sneak up on me you rapist!" She yelled at Dez, who hoped to God nobody heard that. "I just- was looking for you- uh- is it a bad time?"

"..." The two were next to her locker, it was open, but she'd forgotten what she was supposed to be doing. "Shouldn't you be in class or something?" She asked, and he shook his head. "I'm a senior-" 

"So seniors get to skip the end of the year?"

"Yup- basically-"

"Well I have to go to class so we don't have time for you to drool all over my neck- unfortunately-"

"That's not why I was looking for you~ were you thinking about it? Perv- ha!"

"Shut up! I wasn't!"

"Mmhm- anyways- I wanted to ask if I could borrow some money- i'll give it back-"

"Hmf- how- when you're broke?" She asked, and Dez smiled, "I'll give it back~ don't you trust me?"

"... You never ask for money though.." she said, and he nodded, "yeah but something came up-"

"Like what?"

"... Graduation fees .." Dez said, "sorry- I just- thought it was a one time thing with the tuition fee and so-"

"Ugh- you're so stupid- how much do you need?" 

"... You're just gonna let me say any number?" He asked, and She squinted at him. "I'm trusting you to be honest with how much it is."

"..." He nodded, "about 2 thousand when put together .."

"That's all?"

"Yeah .."

"That's nothing!" She scoffed at him, "you don't have two thousand dollars?"

"... that's- a lot of money- two thousand dollars is like three months of work for me .."

"Here- just take it-" 

"You- keep money in your pocket like that?!" Dez asked, looking as she handed him a rubber banded roll of cash. "What's wrong?"

"Emmy that's dangerous!"

"How is having money in my pockets dangerous?" She said, and Dez nearly had a panic attack. "You can't do that! Someone might try to rob you if they see it-" he said, and Emmy rolled her eyes, "no they won't- it's never happened before-"

"Yeah but- just-  _ Emmy please just carry a card or something- _ " 

"Fine .. that's five by the way- you can keep the rest-" 

"..." Dez felt a little bad about this, but … "Thank you~ I love you so much you're the best rich girl I've ever met!"

"I'm going to class!" Emmy said, walking off, completely red in the face. He waved … and looked down, putting it in his pocket as he went the other way. It was more than enough now, this whole thing could finally be over. 

… after he somehow made another 5 thousand dollars.


End file.
